Dust off a shelf in the Southwest DeKalb basketball trophy case. There's certainly room for something new.

The Panthers made history Friday, topping Fayette County 62-46 in the finals of the Class AAAA girls tournament at the Gwinnett Arena. It was the first-ever basketball championship of any kind for the school and the sixth straight girls basketball title for Region 6-AAAA.

After scoring 90 points in the semifinals against Westlake and then dominating the Tigers for a 16-point victory, something that so long never looked so easy.

"Southwest DeKalb has so much tradition in athletics, and we wanted to build on that," Panthers coach Kathy Richey-Walton said. "We talked about it, the past and the great players. Those teams just came up a little bit short. We tried to keep things together, keep things in perspective and not lose sight of what we were trying to do."

That focus led to an impressive performance Friday. Southwest DeKalb (31-2) had eight players score in the championship game, but one of those carried more weight than the rest.

Senior forward Charenee Stephens — a South Carolina signee — led all scorers with 21 points. Whenever the Panthers needed a crucial bucket or a key rebound, there was Stephens.

Southwest DeKalb turned a six-point, first-quarter lead into a 10-point advantage by the half. The spread grew to 20 following a jumper by junior Kajuanna Rivers midway through the third quarter.

But then Fayette County (26-6) found some steam. The Tigers got rolling behind a pair of 3-pointers from junior guard Tessah Holt.

Holt had eight points on a 15-0 run that cut the lead to 45-40 early in the fourth quarter. She finished with 15 points.

The surge was enough to revitalize the Tigers, but not enough to change the outcome.

"I thought we made a push," Fayette County coach John Strickland said. "We made a run. But that's what good teams do. They weather the storm, and then the find a way to pull back ahead."

Rivers nailed another jumper to end the scoring drought, then Stephens followed with back-to-back buckets to push the lead to 51-40. Southwest DeKalb's defense clamped down, and there was little the Tigers could do.

"I think we wanted it more," Stephens said. "It meant more to us. These other schools, the Collins Hills, the Stephensons, they've been here before. Southwest DeKalb is now in the spotlight, and we were happy to be a part of that."

Senior Eboni Mitchell had 12 points for the Panthers, and Alondra Rivers added 10. Sophomore Anma Onyeuku led Fayette County with 17 points.

Southwest DeKalb: Charenee Stephens 21, Eboni Mitchell 12, Alondra Rivers 10, Kajuanna Rivers 7, Simone Rutledge 4, Kayla Lewis 2, Chancie Dunn 2, Jamesha Blake 2, Laquisha Lewis 2.

Fayette County: Anma Onyeuku 17, Tessah Holt 15, Sasha Sims 7, Jasmine Facey 3, Jenee Brooks 2, Kristene Walker 2, Beth Hayes 0, Shataria Traylor 0, Arielle Register 0, Dekota Walton 0, Delicia Worrell 0.

Southwest DeKalb 19 16 10 17 — 62