Norcross uses its defense to cure struggling offense and rally past Archer for region championship

The Blue Devils secure their 11th region title in the past 13 years with a 51-43 comeback win over the Tigers.

By David Friedlander | Photo by Ed Turlington

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The old coaches cliché about how defense wins championship got some pretty strong evidence during the girls championship game of the Region 7-Class 7A basketball tournament.

But it wasn't just how No. 4 state-ranked Norcross smothered No. 8 Archer in the final five minutes that made it region champions for the 11th time in the past 13 years with a 51-43 win Wednesday night at Discovery High School.

It was also how the Blue Devils (21-5) turned defense into offense, forcing Archer (19-6) into turnovers on seven straight possessions and scoring six of those miscues — worth 13 points — during a key run of 15 straight points in the fourth quarter.

That surge — part of a 19-3 run over the final 4:18 of the game that turned an eight-point deficit into the final eight-point winning margin — helped Norcross overcome shooting woes for much of the first three quarters.

And it came after a strong defensive effort from Archer that sparked a run beginning late in the third quarter and carrying over to early in the fourth.

Taniya McGowan, who finished with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, led a 9-0 spurt that gave the Tigers a 40-32 lead after Ashanti Bryant's free throw with 4:58 remaining, which prompted Blue Devils coach Ashley Clanton to switch over to a trapping press.

“The biggest thing was (that) our shots weren't dropping (Wednesday) night,” Clanton said. “We struggled on the offensive end. So we knew if it continued that way, we were going to have to go up the floor, but we didn't want to pull the trigger too early. You risk pulling it too late, too. But the fourth quarter came around, and we still just couldn't get anything under us.

“We had to come up with something to get points because we were struggling. The other thing is, (the press) created more of a flow, too. We were not so stagnant. So once we started that (defense) up the floor, everything started to flow better.”

After an empty trip up the floor on its first possession after Bryant's free throw, Norcross turned up the defensive heat, which ignited the Blue Devils offense.

First-team all-region selection Jania Akins and recently crowned Region Player of the Year Zaria Hurston were the catalysts.

Akins scored seven of her game-high 23 points and came up with several of her game-high seven steals during the 15-0 run that turned the game around.

“She's a sophomore kid, very talented,” Clanton said of Akins. “She can turn it on, and she did down the stretch. She's a gamer.”

Hurston scored six more points during the run on her way to finishing with 11 points, a game-high 16 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Meanwhile, Norcross, which awaits the loser of the Region 5 consolation game between Roswell and Etowah in the first round of the state tournament, also got strong contributions from DeNaeja Morton, who finished with nine points and five boards.

Mia Walker was the only Archer player to join McGowan in double-figure scoring with 10 points, though the Tigers, who will play the Region 5 consolation winner in the first round of the state tournament, also got eight points and eight boards from Courtney Nesbitt.