HAMMOND – With five senior starters, the Lakeview Lady Gators finally climbed to the top of the mountain Friday afternoon.
They got sweet revenge while winning the state championship in the LHSAA’s Non-Select Division IV, defeating defending state champion Arcadia 38-34 at the University Center in Hammond as part of Marsh Madness.
Arcadia had drubbed Lakeview 60-29 in last year’s state semifinals. This time around, the Lady Gators were on a mission. They scored the game’s first eight points and never trailed, holding off the Lady Hornets’ comeback with excellent defense and clutch free throw shooting in the closing minutes Friday.
It’s the first state title in Lakeview girls basketball history. It came a few years after coach Dewaskie Fuller took over a program at its low point.
“Nothing but the Good Lord. This program, we built it from scratch. When we took it over, we were 1-21. We put in hard work and dedication, trusted God, and trusted each other,” he said. “We’re just grateful. A lot of hard work went into this.
“To lose in the third round twice, then to make it to state and then lose, and y’all know about the embarrassment last year, I’m just grateful,” said Fuller.
“I started with them (the senior class). They’ve been with me forever, it seems like,” he said. “They’re like my daughters. They’re going to be missed.”
It was the second straight four-point win in Hammond for Lakeview (30-4), which was the No. 1 seed in the Division IV bracket and beat Midland 48-44 Monday in the semifinals. In the championship contest, the Lady Gators led by 12 in the second quarter, were up 20-10 at halftime and weathered a fierce rally by Arcadia, which was the No. 2 seed.
The Lady Hornets closed within two points with 5:54 remaining, but Da’Zya Johnson quickly doubled the Lakeview lead on a layup from an assist by Najahe Davis, her fifth of the day. Timberlyn Washington, who had seven vital fourth-period points, hit a basket for a 31-25 advantage, but Arcadia kept coming, moving within three.
Johnson grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 2:18 to go for a 33-28 lead, but Arcadia came back to close within 34-32 with 1:05 left. Washington sank two pressure free throws with 35 seconds to go and added two more down the stretch to preserve the Lakeview lead.
Johnson was chosen as the game’s Outstanding Player. She scored 10 points and had 8 rebounds, and her first-half production staked Lakeview to the lead it never relinquished. Last season, she played at Northwood-Lena and helped that team win the Division IV championship before transferring north to Lakeview.
“She got frustrated in the semifinals,” said Fuller. “I told her in the semifinal game, for us to be successful, we were going to have to go through her. We knew that she had the advantage down low, and she had a championship pedigree. She is already a (state) champion. For her to come out and put the hard work and effort to make sure her sister (Washington) was a champion, that shows you the true character of Da’Zya Johnson.”
Johnson overcame a serious knee injury after transferring. She briefly left Friday’s game after a collision in the third quarter, was helped to the locker room, and quickly returned to finish the game.
“The past year I’ve been through a lot with basketball. I tore my ACL and my meniscus. I never thought I could be back here,” she said. “Honestly, depression, my mental state, I really went downhill when I tore my knee. For me to come (to Lakeview), to know ‘T’ has my back, to know she was always uplifting me, it does feel great to win it. This is my sister, and I feel like I’ve been with this girl my whole life.
“I’m just emotional right now. I know I won it last year, but this is special,” said Johnson.
“T” is Washington, who will certainly soon earn All-State first team honors for a third straight year. She passed the 2,000-career point milestone earlier this season and added to her total Friday with a team-high 13 points.
“It had never been done on the girls side, so of course it means a lot to us,” she said. “To know we made history for Campti, that’s big.
“When the buzzer went off, you had laughter, you had tears,” said Washington. ‘Whew! It was an amazing feeling.”
