By Matt Winkeljohn
It was a pick-your-poison night for the Stephenson girls Wednesday, when the No. 1 Southwest DeKalb Lady Panthers reminded in a 66-39 victory that they hold their ranking for reasons – they are multiple.
Junior Tynice Martin scored 20 points, and freshman Jada Walton added 15 as SWD (30-2) beamed its diverse skill-set in its own gym while punching a Class AAAAA Final Four ticket.
Martin made three 3-pointers in the first half, when SWD made seven, on the way to a 39-24 halftime lead.
Then, the Lady Panthers scored every third-quarter point from within the lane or the free-throw line as their Region 6 rival tried to adjust defensively.
“First half, we were going to take what they gave us,” said Southwest DeKalb coach Kathy Walton. “In the second half, we wanted to control it, kind of use the clock and go inside. The kids did a good job of executing the game plan.
“At first they zoned us, and then they manned us. Once they manned us, we decided to attack the basket.”
It all worked.
The game was tied at 7 before the Lady Panthers went berserk with the long ball.
Walton – no relation to the head coach – already had hit a 3-pointer before Martin and senior Darsan DeShazier each hit a pair as the Lady Panthers closed the first period with the first of their two 18-4 runs in the game.
“They’re hard to defend,” Stephenson coach Dennis Watkins Jr. said after losing to SWD for the third time this season. “When you shoot as well as they do, it’s just difficult.”
Southwest DeKalb grew its 14-point lead to a margin of 21 in the second quarter before the Lady Jaguars (21-10) finished the half on an 8-2 run. The final five points were scored at the free-throw line by junior Rhein Beamon, who led Stephenson with 15 points.
Southwest DeKalb went scoreless for the first 2:11 of the third quarter, too, which prompted coach Walton to call timeout.
The Lady Jaguars had only scored once, on a Beamon runner, but the Panthers looked lost.
That didn’t last.
Southwest DeKalb scored the next 18 points – all on free throws, put-backs, drives, layups or short shots underneath – to put the game away. The Lady Panthers led 59-28 after three quarters.
“The key was rebounding and defense,” Martin said in recalling Stephenson’s switch to man-to-man defense. “After the first quarter, our shot kind of stopped falling, and coach Watson . . . that’s when we emphasized getting in the lane and drawing fouls and hitting free throws.”
Southwest DeKalb pulled away in large measure because the Lady Panthers have several girls who can handle and move the ball, and they rebound better than their size might indicate.
“We missed in that third quarter I think seven or eight layups,” Watkins said. “You can’t get back in the game that way.”
Walton is looking forward to a trip to Fort Valley for a state semifinal game.
“My kids are very athletic and a lot of fun to coach,” she said. “They get after it, and I’ve got some kids who really love the game.”
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