Lakia Morton’s Lakeside Lady Vikings’ basketball grabbed a spot in the 2023 GHSA girls’ basketball state playoffs by holding on to defeat the North Atlanta Lady Warriors 38-37 in the Region 4-6A Girls’ Basketball Tournament at Riverwood on Tuesday night.

Adia Bouldin and Sybil Thomas got the Lady Vikings (14-9) off to quick start with back-to-back three-points as Lakeside jumped ahead 8-0. Thomas added two more three-pointers in the second quarter and Bouldin added six points including a steal and layup to make it 30-16 at the half.

Lakeside would pick up just one point in the third quarter on a free throw by Thomas while Ryelle Gomes got hot inside scoring six of her fifteen points in the period. A three-pointer by Siena Scheftino and another basket by Byranna Carson pulled the Lady Warriors within 31-29 going into the fourth quarter.

Carson put the Warriors up 32-31 with 7:50 to play only to have Bouldin answer with a three-pointer to regain the lead at 34-31 with 7:25 remaining. A Bouldin free throw followed by a three-pointer from Thomas that pushed the cushion up to six at 38-32 in favor of the Vikings.

Keandra Shuller made a layup and was fouled with 2:10 to play with a chance to tie the game, but missed her free throw.

North Atlanta got the ball back with 0.6 seconds left on the clock. Following a timeout, they inbounded with a long pass up the court that Bouldin tracked down and ran out the clock.

Bouldin finished with 18 points (7 rebounds0 to lead Lakeside and Sybil Thomas added 16 points (7 rebounds). South Cobb got 15 points from Ryelle Gomes.

Other Region 4-6A Results
(B) South Cobb 51, Dunwoody 47
The Dunwoody Wildcats (11-15) came up short in their bid for a state playoff berth as South Cobb held on for a 51-47 win at Riverwood.

Dunwoody trailed by six points with 4:45 left in the third quarter and reeled off seven unanswered points to take a brief lead. Loic Keutcha’s layup with 2:20 left in the third gave Dunwoody a 34-33.

South Cobb answered with back-to-back three-pointers by Rajah Morgan and two free throws by Jermaine Freeman to take a 41-35 lead into the fourth quarter. A 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter pulled the Vikings within 41-40 with 3:37 remaining in the game. Keautcha got an offensive put back to cut the lead to one.

Despite two last three-pointers by Malcolm the Vikings (11-15) could not close the gap as South Cobb hit four consecutive free throws to seal the game.

Malcolm finished with 14 points and Loic Keutcha (13 rebounds) and Ryan Smith added 12 points each. Jermaine Freeman and Caleb Mayes scored 10 points each to lead South Cobb (13-12).

(G) St. Pius 61, Dunwoody 38
St. Pius X jumped out to a 14-3 first quarter lead and never looked back on the way to a 61-38 win over the Dunwoody Lady Wildcats in girls’ basketball action.

Annabella Sheridan hit for two of three three-pointers in the second quarter and Alex Schiavo added the third to extend the lead to 38-12.

Grace Brinson hit a pair of three pointers for Dunwoody in the third quarter only to have Sheridan counter with eight points as St. Pius continued to build its lead to 53-23 with a quarter to play.

Brinson and Ellie Hull finished with 9 points each and Amari Michael added eight more for Dunwoody (6-20) and Amar Michael added 8. Sheridan finished with a game-high 22 points and Alex Schiavo added 10.

(B) Riverwood 71, Lakeside 57
Riverwood’s Karis Bilal hit for a game-high 32 points to lead the Raiders to a 71-57 first round win over the Lakeside Vikings.

Bilal hit for 21 of his points in the first half and had four dunks in the game as Riverwood pushed out to a 40-24 lead at the break. Riverwood’s lead held steady through the third period up 50-36.

AJ Wheeler opened the fourth quarter with a pair of three-pointers as Lakeside closed the gap to nine (53-44). Two of Bilal’s dunks came in a 9-1 run by Riverwood to take back command of the game up 58-44.

Wheeler finished with 19 points to lead the Vikings while Sebastian Reid finished with 14 points and DJ Jones had 12 points.

TEAMS ALREADY IN PLAYOFFS (14)
(Girls – 7) Arabia Mountain, Cedar Grove, Chamblee, Columbia, Lakeside, Lithonia, SW DeKalb
(Boys – 7) Cedar Grove, Chamblee, Columbia, Lithonia, Miller Grove, Redan, Tucker
16 teams need wins tonight and tomorrow for state playoff berths

DEKALB REGION TOURNAMENT RESULTS
Tuesday, 2/14
REGION 6-4A – QUARTERFINALS
AT MILLER GROVE
(G) SW DeKalb (16-10) 81, Druid Hills (6-17) 40
(B) Miller Grove (15-11) 62, Hapeville (14-11) 60 OT
(G) Westminster (20-6) 70, Miller Grove (7-18) 13
(B) Holy Innocents (15-10) 62, Westminster (10-17) 52

REGION 4-6A – QUARTERFINALS
AT RIVERWOOD
(G) Lakeside ( 14-9) 38, North Atlanta (8-16) 37
(B) South Cobb (13-12) 51, Dunwoody (11-15) 47
(G) St. Pius (13-11) 61, Dunwoody (6-20) 38
(B) Riverwood (17-9) 71, Lakeside (11-15) 57

REGION 5-3A – SEMIFINALS
AT SANDY CREEK
(B) Cedar Grove (16-8) 69, Douglass (12-13) 65
(G) Carver (16-9) 60, Cedar Grove (3-15) 33

DEKALB REGION TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, 2/15
REGION 6-4A – QUARTERFINALS
AT MILLER GROVE
(G) Stephenson (12-12) vs. Hapeville (13-9), 4:00 pm
(B) Druid Hills (15-10) vs. Stephenson (15-10), 5:30 pm
(G) Stone Mountain (5-18) vs. Holy Innocents’ (19-4), 7:00 pm
(B) Stone Mountain (4-22) vs. SW DeKalb (22-2), 8:30 pm

REGION 4-5A – SEMIFINALS
AT ARABIA MOUNTAIN
(G) Chamblee (12-8) vs. Decatur (16-8), 4:00 pm
(B) Lithonia (17-8) vs. Decatur (15-8), 5:30 pm
(G) Lithonia (8-17) vs. Arabia Mountain (23-1), 7:00 pm
(B) Chamblee (8-15) vs. Tucker (18-6), 8:30 pm

REGION 5-2A – SEMIFINALS
AT COLUMBIA
(G) ELCA (9-11) vs. Columbia (19-6), 4:00 pm
(B) Landmark (12-14) vs. Columbia (25-1), 5:30 pm
(G) Callaway (16-6) vs. Landmark (18-8), 7:00 pm
(B) Redan (14-7) vs. Callaway (12-11), 8:30 pm

Thursday, 2/16
REGION 5-3A – CHAMPIONSHIP
AT SANDY CREEK
(G) Cedar Grove (3-15) vs. Douglass, 4:00 pm
(B) Cedar Grove (16-8) vs. Sandy Creek (20-6), 8:30 pm

REGION 4-6A – SEMIFINALS
AT RIVERWOOD
(G) Lakeside (14-9) vs. Marist (22-2), 7:00 pm