GAINESVILLE, Ga. — “Pick on someone your own size” has always meant something to Lakeview Academy. One of the smallest private schools in the state, the Lions have had to play with the bigger public and private schools for decades.
They often wondered what would and could be if they were in a classification with similar and smaller schools. They are finding out.
The Lakeview girls basketball team advanced to the Final 4 of the GIAA Class 3A last week with a 50-41 win over John Milledge. It’s not the first time the Lady Lions have ever made the semifinals. They made their first Final 4 in 2005 in Class A. They got back to the Final 4 in 2017 in Class A Private.
But Wednesday’s semifinal clash with Deerfield-Windsor out of Macon at the University of West Georgia (7:30 p.m. tip) will be the first time they have entered a semifinal on what would be considered level-footing with their opponent. In 2017 they matched up with powerhouse Wesleyan, who was in the midst of winning eight state titles in 11 years. They lost to eventual state runner-up Calhoun County in 2005.
Interim Lakeview Academy coach Karen Towles, for one, is ecstatic.
“Finally, we’re in a league that is comparing apples to apples,” Towles said. “We’ve always been a small private school, and to have to be matched up with some of those huge schools we had to play, we really did pretty well considering. But this has been a very fun season to see that both teams are competitive in just about every game. The competition has been really good.”
As usual, however, nothing has come easy for the Lady Lions (17-12). The GIAA (as some would like the Georgia High School Association to do) seeds their tournaments. Lakeview was slotted fifth. Deerfield-Windsor (25-1) was the overall top seed in the 12-team field.
The Lady Knights' only loss came to GHSA Class 3A Monroe-Albany (61-58), who lost in the second round of the playoffs last week. They beat Class 7A teams Camden County and Colquitt County, among several other GHSA opponents.
Towles said she and assistant coach Ken Huffman are looking for any weakness in the Lady Knights.
“Coach Huffman is a basketball brain. He has been a huge part of this group really progressing this year,” Towles said. “Deerfield is strong everywhere on the court. Hopefully, we can find something to our advantage.
“But I do know that we will need four solid quarters of defense. Both teams have inside games, and both teams have good guard play as well. Whichever team executes better will probably win.”
Lakeview is led by a pair of sophomores in guard Dynesty Putman (14.3 points/game, 5.5 rebounds/game, 2.9 steals/game, 3 assists/game) and post Taliah Gaither (17.1 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 1.9 blocks/game). Juniors Kivana Bogne (7.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and senior Sidney Corbin (6.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg) give them two more consistent offensive options, while junior Annie Nivens (4.0 rpg) also helps on the boards.
“These girls want to win, and they have really kicked it up a gear in the playoffs,” Towles said. “This has been an awesome run so far. It would mean so much to everyone and be huge for the program if we can get to the championship game.
“We’re going (to Carrollton) looking to win. We wouldn’t approach it any other way. And these girls are ready to go.”
