Luella head coach LaToya Brown put last season’s overtime loss to Marist in the state championship behind her and the Lions and the team has been on a mission to return to the finals this season. Brown’s willingness to challenge her girls with a top schedule creates a one-game at a time attitude and the result has been a mix of competitive games and utter blowouts. At the direction of Brown, all of the girls spent the fall on the cross country team to condition for the season and the Lions are off to a 6-2 start with the only losses coming to Florida powerhouse Palm Bay and Class 5A No. 1 ranked Kell.
In Region play, Luella opened the slate with a 90-10 victory over Hampton back on Dec. 12. Luella jumped out to a 36-3 lead after the first quarter and took a 57-5 lead into the half. The Lions followed that victory with a 76-49 win over Woodland-Stockbridge and a 66-62 win over Stockbridge. The following outing, Luella stifled Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 71-0 and posted the first shutout seen in the 2022 GHSA season. The Lions led 28-0 after the first quarter and 48-0 at the half before outscoring the Bulldogs 18-0 in the third and 5-0 in the final quarter. Four different players notched double-digits, including pre-season all-state selection Arianna Dyson—who netted a game-high 17 points to go with her 10 rebounds. The team generated 29 total steals and did not allow the 15 turnovers committed to be converted into points.
Luella is now 4-0 in region play and is a frontrunner to return to the playoffs as a top seed. Marist—who scored the win over Luella in last year’s championships is now contending in a stacked Class 6A field and the Lions’ top competition will be the bevy of powerhouses that are new to Class 4A this season—including region foe and No. 5 ranked Stockbridge, Griffin (9-1), Westminster and Holy Innocents’—who are also ranked in the top 5.
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