Albany Deerfield-Windsor girls fall to Gainesville Lakeview in state championship game

COLUMBUS — The Deerfield-Windsor Lady Knights battled fiercely Friday night at Columbus State University, but the Lady Lions of Gainesville’s Lakeview Academy took home the state title, beating Deerfield-Windsor 54-45.

“It all came down to rebounds,” Deerfield-Windsor head coach Gina Mitchell said. “If we had been able to take a couple of those rebounds they got and scored with and we went down with a chance to score it would have changed the entire complexion of the game. But we couldn’t get those rebounds.”

The Lady Lions had multiple shots at the basket almost every time down the floor because of their height advantage and the quickness with which they moved to the ball. Those extra attempts made a massive difference in the final quarter as the Lady Knights fought to rally for the win.

“The girls left everything on the court,” Mitchell said. “They played their hearts out. We had moments, that if it had gone our way, it would have turned out differently. We missed too many free throws and then we couldn’t get a call when we needed it. But even with all that we still had a chance, but we couldn’t pull down the rebounds.”

The Lady Knights started with obvious nerves, and Lakeview led early because Deerfield-Windsor could not get the ball into the hoop. The Lady Knights finally got going, however, and trailed only 23-22 at the half.

Dominating inside the paint, Lakeview pushed its lead to 11 points in the third quarter and again in the fourth. The Lady Knights battled back with Joi Hubbard and Gabrielle Harris getting most of the opportunities to score, but chances dimmed when senior guard Murphy Ray fouled out on a questionable charging foul early in the fourth.

“It’s never a good thing to lose,” the coach said. “But I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls. I am really proud of the way they played. They gave all they had and I couldn’t ask for more.”

The Lady Knights finished the season with a 24-6 overall record. Hubbard, Harris and Ray concluded their high school basketball careers. Hubbard led the team with 25 points, Harris scored 12 while Ray and Hampton Rushton added four each.

By Joe Whitfield
Sports EditorJoeWhitfield[email protected]