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Friday, March 9, 2007
Collins Hill proves to be the ultimate ‘team’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If it has been lost in the weekly Maya Moore praise and worship service, let’s be clear about it now: Collins Hill reigns in the girls game because Moore is part of a confluence of exceptional components.
She is the river, her teammates the tributaries. One cannot be without the other. It so happens that Moore ranks as the best player in the state, if not the entire nation, and her fellow Eagles players are strong in ways that constitute the ultimate team.
Thursday night, that’s what did in Stephenson, which had not lost a game all season. Moore was typically stellar — spectacular at times — and her teammates were equally effective.
And that was the difference, and has always been the decisive factor in the Eagles’ success. Moore leads and her teammates are not far behind.
While Moore did just about everything — she took a charge, had an assist with a beautiful touch pass, hit a fadeaway from the baseline, threw perfectly timed outlet passes — it was the play of so many others that ended the Jaguars’ season.
Start with senior guard Jordan Jones, who bombed her way to 23 points, all but two of them coming off of seven 3-point shots. Somehow, Jones, a renowned marksman, was left open beyond the arc and she continually drained the shot.
When a Jaguars rally moved them within 64-57 in the fourth quarter, Moore calmly pulled up for a 3-pointer and, after a Stephenson miss, Jones sank her seventh trey for a 70-57 lead. And that was that.
Along the way, so many others joined in the championship-berth win. Like Taylor Dalrymple, the 11th-grader who is crafty around the basket. Her offensive rebounding and inside scoring were pivotal early, when the Eagles had to fend off Stephenson’s early push.
Junior Nikki Urbizo was a stabilizer who had two key threes at the end of unselfish ball movement. Her selflessness permeates the team.
Also significant was senior Keda Richie, whose energy and toughness helped offset the Jaguars’ legion of athletic forwards. A player like Richie is invaluable. She does not require shots to be happy; she just plays smart and hard and makes the plays — strong double-teams, rebounds, etc. — that coaches value.
All that, and you can’t get away from one truth: None of it matters without Moore.
How’s this for a line: 26 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists. Further, at the end of the game, when Stephenson went to an all-out press, it was the 6-foot Moore who brought the ball up court.
Three years ago, these two teams authored an epic on the same court in the championship round. Boys or girls, it is one of the most competitive and hotly contested games I’ve witnessed.
Stephenson outlasted Collins Hill that memorable night, and it went down as a public service on the wonder of the girls game. It also was the one and only time a team from Georgia beat Moore and the Eagles in her career. How outrageous is that?
And here’s another stat to digest: Coach Tracey Tipton is 64-1 in her career. It shows how well she and her staff drill, prepare and motivate the players. The Eagles play as a unit, and it starts with Tipton.
But it’s sure nice to have the luxury of Moore, who represents the quintessential student-athlete: Smart, competitive, unselfish, winner. And here’s the rub: It also appropriately describes her teammates.
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