USC-AIKEN
Georgia Dominance vs Georgia Sting (17-U Championship)
Georgia Dominance and Georgia Sting met in the Girl’s 17-U Championship. The Georgia Dominance came out strong and aggressive. They hit their offensive stride from the opening tip. On the strength of back to back threes by Mariah Baltierra and Nilah Lynch, Georgia Dominance jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead. The Sting started out slow but eventually solved the defensive pressure of the Dominance and gained their offensive rhythm. Point guard Jessica Dowdy began to assert herself and dictated the pace of the game by pushing the ball and finding open teammates. The Sting closed the first half on a run to make it 21-20 at the half. Dowdy finished the half with 9 pts for the Sting. Dominance was paced by Baltierra and Lynch. Both finished with 5 pts each.
The second half started with Dominance asserting themselves early and going on a run. They pulled out to a 27-20 lead following another 3-pointer by Lynch. Baltierra was very effective at orchestrating the Dominance offense and took care of the basketball as their floor general. Arin Moore and Yazmin Calhoun got into their offensive groove in the second half. The Dominance displayed a total team effort and benefited from their defensive pressure. Nadia McCown had a big second half and came up big. She led her team with 11 pts. The Sting remained competitive throughout the game and played with toughness. Dowdy closed the game with 16 pts but it wasn’t enough to overcome the balanced effort of the Dominance squad. Moore and Calhoun finished with 9 pts apiece as the Dominance went on to win the championship game with a 54-43 win.