COAL MOUNTAIN — Even their own coach admits that -- at first glance -- North Forsyth girls basketball is far from an intimidating bunch.
“We’re not real tall, we’re not real big. We probably even look slow,” Eric Herrick said. “We don’t scare many people when we get off the bus.”
Twenty-eight other teams may not agree, however.
On Tuesday, North Forsyth (28-2) tied its school record in wins with a 68-63 victory over Hillgrove in the quarterfinals of the Class 7A state playoffs. The win also propelled the Lady Raiders into their first-ever state semifinal.
“It was important for this group of seniors to accomplish something that had never been done before,” Herrick said. “But beyond that I don’t know if (the girls) put too much on it. Our goal was to win the region and we did that. Then, we wanted to focus on making a deep (playoff) run. We’ve done that. Those were are real goals coming into the season.”
The Lady Raiders do not have anyone on their roster taller than 6-foot-1 and 11 players stand between 5-5 and 5-8. But they do feature a scrappy defensive group that has yielded the fewest points in Class 7A (1,002, 33.4 points per game) and a four-guard offensive attack that can hit from anywhere on the court.
They will need everything the unit can muster Saturday at 6 p.m. in The Buford Arena when they take on No. 1-ranked Westlake (28-1) in the semifinals.
The Lady Lions dismantled No. 2 Collins Hill 59-34 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday in Lawrenceville. Their only loss on the season came to Mercer County (Harrodsburg, Kent.) the No. 1-ranked girls team in the Bluegrass state. Westlake has seven players over 6-feet and averages 36 rebounds a game as a team.
Still, it should be a compelling matchup as Westlake is the top scoring team in Class 7A, averaging 71.5 ppg on the season, and should be tested by the Lady Raiders’ top-rated defense.
Herrick, however, said North Forsyth's biggest weapon could very well be the first impression they make on Westlake during warmups.
“No one expected us to be here except for probably everyone on our bench,” he said. “I doubt they’ll overlook us, but, really, what do we have to lose? They’re going to see a smallish team compared to some of the other teams they’ve played. Hopefully we can make that work to our advantage.”
Herrick said the Lady Raiders' defense, along with a balanced offense, gives them more than a puncher’s-chance. Senior Catherine Shope averages 19 points a game and poured in 31 in Tuesday's win over Hillgrove. Sophomore Caroline Martin is averaging 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists a game -- she put up 21 against Hillgrove. Senior Cassie Markle is averaging 8 points and freshman Kate Perryman is pulling down 7 rebounds a game.
The 3-point shooting of the Lady Raiders also could be a huge factor. They hit 10-of-20 attempted treys against Hillgrove and have pumped in as many as 18 3-pointers in one game during the season.
“This is the best offensive team I’ve had since I’ve been here,” Herrick said. “They are a great shooting team most nights. If we’re shooting the ball well I feel like we can compete with anyone.
“We don’t have a big post presence and tall, physical teams give us a lot of trouble. But our ability to score and get contributions from a lot of players is our strength. We’ll play to that (against Westlake) and see what happens.”
No matter the outcome on Saturday Herrick said it has been a fun ride this season.
“Nothing against any of the other teams I’ve had but this has probably been the most enjoyable team I’ve ever coached,” he said. “It’s a very mature group that works hard and there’s no drama.”
Though he probably wouldn’t mind some high drama in Buford as they go for their biggest win in school history.
