BUFORD — Buford girls coach Gene Durden may not be a gemologist, but this he knows: pressure either makes diamonds, or crushes them.
Right now, a young Lady Wolves team may be on its way to creating a sparkling finish to their 2016 season.
They have put together two impressive wins in the Class AAAA playoffs to this point, the last being a 59-48 Sweet 16 victory over Mt. Zion on the road. They opened the 2016 playoffs with a 63-38 rout of Whitewater at home.
Buford (24-5) now will take on Arabia Mountain (20-10) Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Fort Valley State in the quarterfinals.
But as bright as things look now for the defending Class AAAA champions, the Lady Wolves were perhaps feeling the weight of expectations after suffering a stunning 54-51 loss to North Oconee in the Region 8-AAAA finals.
Durden said expectations are a double-edged sword, especially on a young group.
“We always have high expectations so there is always pressure that comes with that, but that’s a good thing because that can help drive you to your goals,” he said. “The bad thing is that sometimes it gets the best of people having to live up to something. Every year is different and every team is different and you never really know which way things are going to go until you get in those situations.
“Against North Oconee we didn’t bring the energy we needed to play our style of game. It was something we had talked about (during the season) and they saw that if you don’t bring it every game you can and will get beat. I think it was a good lesson for us going into the playoffs.”
The 2016 version of the Lady Wolves is considerably different than in years past. During a run that has seen them capture four titles in seven years in three classifications, they were blessed with stars like Blanche Alverson (Auburn), Kaela Davis (South Carolina via Georgia Tech), Andraya Carter (Tennessee) and Camille Anderson (N.C. State). This year’s team lacks some of that star power -- which may be a driving factor to its success.
“I think that is one of the biggest strengths of this team,” Durden said. “We don’t have that one big star. We have a lot of girls who have stepped up throughout the season and exceeded their expectations. We are a much more balanced team than the last few years.”
Youth is also noticeable as the Lady Wolves have just one senior (Chandler Hall) on the roster. Three of their top five scorers are sophomores. The balance is clearly evident on the stat sheet.
Sophomore Tory Ozment leads Buford in scoring at just 10.8 points a game. She also leads the Lady Wolves in assists (4.0 apg) and in steals (1.5 spg).
Fellow sophomore Audrey Weiner is second averaging 8.7 ppg, while sophomore Jessica Nelson averages 7.6 ppg and a team-leading 5.6 rebounds per game. Juniors Marissa Bruce (7.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg), Rachel Dobbs (7.2 ppg), and Pamela Johnson (4.4 ppg, 3.2 apg) give the Lady Wolves plenty of viable weapons at any time on the court.
“We are a young team and part of what we have been trying to teach them is that understanding that you have to play your best every game. You can’t take a day off and expect to be successful,” Durden said. “We took a step back (against North Oconee) but I think that will help us move forward now.”
They will face an Arabia Mountain team that claimed its first playoff wins in history over the past week. The Lady Rams knocked off Heritage, Catoosa in the first round for their first-ever playoff win behind 6-foot-2 sophomore center Iyania Kitchens. They followed that with a 53-38 victory over Burke County to set up a showdown with Buford.
“All I know about them is that they are very athletic and they try to get it to their big girl in the middle,” Durden said. “They are playing very well right now. For us, it’s just about playing well and playing our style of basketball. I always believe that if we do that we have a chance to win.”
A key area Friday will be the free throw line. It was a factor in their loss to North Oconee, and the Lady Wolves are shooting just 56 percent from the line on the season.
“Missed free throws and giving up easy baskets cost us the game against North Oconee and those are areas where we will have to be good (on Friday) to have a chance,” Durden said.
According to Durden, this is when the fun really starts. And, when he begins to see what his teams are made of.
“Tournament season is my favorite time of year because basketball is a tournament sport,” he said. “We’re very happy for this team to be where it is at. But, there is still a lot of potential left to tapped as well. We’re probably going to find out a little more about whether we can make some diamonds out of this season.”
