State tournament: Redan girls take AAAAA title

Redan’s one-point semifinal victory against Parkview on Thursday could have drained the Raiders before Friday’s Class AAAAA final at Gwinnett Arena.

Five minutes of play against Marietta, however, proved otherwise.

The Raiders bolted ahead of the Blue Devils 9-0 en route to a 17-point halftime lead and a 64-40 victory that capped an undefeated season and the DeKalb school’s first state championship.

The Raiders (27-0) became only the second team to go undefeated in Class AAAAA’s nine years of existence, duplicating Collins Hill’s 29-0 run in 2007.

“We’ve got a combination of playing smart, playing hard and playing together,” Raiders coach Rhonda Malone said. “Every night we have somebody else lead us.”

Redan’s hustle, combined with Marietta’s cold shooting, achieved the jubilant result the Raiders couldn’t in losing the 2005 and ‘08 finals to Collins Hill and Stephenson. In the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season, all under Malone, the Raiders smothered the Devils, who were in their first final since 1951.

Redan held its biggest advantage, 53-23, on Nia Evans’ basket underneath with 1:13 left in the third quarter. Quortni Fambro led the Raiders with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Evans followed with 17 and Aneesah Daniels nine.

Redan didn’t allow Marietta (29-5) to score until Brittany White made a layup with 2:14 left in the first period. White led the Devils with eight points, while Telia McCall added seven.