Redan Girls Look Toward Pinnacle

The first thing Redan girls basketball players might have done with 2011 calendars was circle March 11.

That's when they plan to be at the Gwinnett Arena, recapturing a state championship that barely slipped through their grasp last season.

"We feel like we have some unfinished business there," Raiders coach Jerry Jackson said. "We're already in that mind frame, knowing what we want to do back there."

The Raiders have made a habit of being at the arena each March. In five of the last six seasons, they've reached at least the state semifinals there, celebrating their first championship in 2009 under former coach Rhonda Malone.

But still stuck in their craw is having lost last season's AAAAA championship game to Norcross and falling one win short of consecutive undefeated seasons. Undoubtedly, it's been hard to shake the memory of winning 58 straight games over two seasons, but succumbing to Norcross' 16-1 run in the second half and losing, 76-63.

"It reminds us we're not perfect," Raiders center Aneesah Daniels said. "Losing that game reminds you what can happen if you don't give it your all every time out. Anybody can beat you."

Ranked No. 2 in the coaches poll behind unbeaten Chamblee, the Region 6-AAAA Raiders (11-1) approached this week's home games against Marist, Carver and Mundy's Mill having won four straight. Before snow and ice kept everyone off the court for a week, this season's only blemish has been a 60-58 shortfall to three-time defending state champion Southwest DeKalb in the final four seconds.

The Raiders have outscored opponents 70-40 on average, thanks largely to Daniels and guard Kierra Paige, who scored her 1,000th career point in a 76-14 win over region rival Lakeside. Paige's 14 points against Lakeside supplemented freshmen Jada Byrd's 15 and Destini McClary's 13, and helped the Raiders lead the Vikings 62-11 at halftime and never look back.

Daniels began this week as DeKalb County's fourth-leading scorer averaging 17 points per game, and its top rebounder with 16 boards. Paige was averaging 15 points and had the county's most 3-point baskets with 26, including 10 in the last three games. Byrd was averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Jackson said key to success has been integrating experience with youth, often playing several freshmen at once.

"We've adjusted to each other," he said. "It doesn't ever look like we have four freshmen on the floor at any one time. If someone's having a bad game, somebody else has stepped up."

With a Subregion B rematch at Southwest DeKalb still upcoming, the Raiders perhaps are fighting the urge to begin travel plans to Gwinnett. They'd love not only to avenge last season's championship loss, but also second-place finishes in 2008 to Stephenson and in '05 to Collins Hill.

Still vivid, though, are celebrative memories of 2009, when the Raiders became only the second unbeaten team in Class AAAAA's 11 years of existence by going 27-0 and beating Marietta 64-40 for the championship. Paige is among four Redan players from that year, when the Raiders kept Marietta scoreless for nearly six minutes and led by 30 late in the third quarter.

"Winning that game was the best feeling ever," Paige said. "It made all the hardship and the hard practices worth it."

Editor's note: The Lady Raiders won Tuesday's game against Marist 57-33. Look for a video and more coverage on Stone Mountain Patch.