Brookwood beats Parkview for Girls 8-AAAAA Title

Brookwood used a tenacious defense and balanced scoring to beat Parkview 49-44 to win the Region 8-AAAAA girls basketball championship Saturday in Lilburn.

Brookwood had four players score in double figures. Jazmine Jackson and Courtney Gardner finished with 11 points each and Autumn Adams and Rebecca Walker added 10 each. Marissa Mandeldove finished with 19 points for Parkview and Katie Carroll had 10.

Brookwood (25-2), which will host Northview Feb. 25 in the first round of the state tournament, won despite making only 15 of 34 free throws. The win also avenged a regular-season loss to Parkview on Feb. 8 that gave the Lady Broncos their first loss of the season.

"To win a big game like this and not hit your free throws is big," said Brookwood head coach Scott Terry. "[But] the kids played well. …

"We been in games like that early in the year, in the Deep South [Classic at Brookwood] playing teams like Southwest DeKalb," Terry added. "We didn't panic, and that's why we played those games."

Parkview (21-5) led 14-11 at the end of the first period but Brookwood led for most of the rest of the game, holding leads of 25-19 at halftime and 37-30 heading into the frantic final quarter.

Brookwood opened a 12-point lead early in the third period at 33-21, but Parkview chipped away and got within five at 39-34 when Carroll had a steal and a basket with 5:02 left in the game. Carroll hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to four at 41-37 with 4:09 left.

Parkview scored seven of the next 10 points to tie the score at 44-44 on a layup by Mandeldove. But Brookwood’s Courtney Gardner answered with a basket for a 46-44 lead with 48 seconds left, and the Lady Broncos held on from there.

Parkview coach Mike McCoy knew his team could make a comeback but he said foul trouble was a factor in the loss.

"We play pretty good when we have the team on the floor we want," said McCoy. "But we got in foul trouble and it cost us tonight."

In the third-place game, South Gwinnett’s girls overcame an 18-point deficit to beat Berkmar 48-46 in overtime.

The Lady Patriots led 31-13 in the third quarter, but South went on a 26-8 run to tie the score 39-39 at the end of regulation.

Tina Odume had 14 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocks for South. Kiara Baker added 13 points and Alysia Johnson pulled down 14 rebounds. Kenisha Watkins had 19 points for Berkmar.

"We never give up," said South coach Jaime Kruppa. "We've been down twice by double digits this year and have come back to win."