Defending state champion Norcross outscored Campbell 32-12 over the game’s final 11:03 to turn what had been a close game into a 66-46 victory in the Class AAAAA girls basketball semifinals Thursday afternoon at Gwinnett Arena.
Norcross’ Dearica Hamby and Shayla Cooper were the difference down the stretch. Making the most of their size advantage, they combined for 18 points in the final seven minutes and controlled the lane, limiting Campbell to three fourth-quarter field goals. Hamby, a 6-foot-3 senior, finished with 17 points. Cooper, a 6-1 sophomore, had 12.
The victory puts the Blue Devils (28-3) in Friday’s championship game at 7 p.m. Sixth-ranked Campbell finished the season 25-7.
“They better come in and make a difference. That’s their role,” Norcross coach Angie Hembree said. “Shayla got a little bit nervous in the beginning, but boy in the fourth quarter she played like she can play, and so did Hamby. I love having them come off the bench.”
Campbell rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to tie the game 34-34 on a short jumper by Erica Norwood midway through the third quarter. Norwood scored 10 of her game-high 24 points as the Spartans opened the second half with a 13-3 run to pull even. But that’s when Hamby and Cooper got the Blue Devils back in control.
“Our size helped, but they outrebounded us in the third quarter, and I had to challenge the kids,” Hembree said. “It’s always an emphasis for us, but it became a real emphasis in the fourth quarter because if we had played again like we did in the third quarter, we would’ve gotten beat.”
Sophomore Diamond DeShields got Norcross off to a strong start, and it looked as if the Blue Devils might have an easy time of it. She made a 3-pointer 22 seconds into the game and had a nice assist in an 8-0 game-opening run. The Blue Devils led 16-8 at the end of the quarter and increased the margin to 13 at 28-15 before settling for a 31-21 halftime lead. DeShields finished with 21 points.
“Randy McClure is a great coach, and Campbell’s not going to sit there and let you just take it to them,” Hembree said. “So I knew they were going to come back. The question was how we were going to be able to counter. I thought the third quarter got away from us a little bit, but in the fourth quarter we did a good job. We did a good job on the boards, and I think that was the biggest difference.”
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