Second Glance
Te'a Cooper and McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) have to clear two more hurdles, including a showdown with No. 22 Norcross (Ga.), to clinch the No. 2 spot in the final rankings.POWERADE FAB 50 Rankings: Week 13
Because St. Mary's concluded its season at 30-0, with Arizona state and Nike Tournament of Champions titles in tow, everyone else in girls' basketball has been playing for No. 2 in the POWERADE FAB 50. And we could have closure on the second spot as soon as Friday night.
First, No. 2 McEachern and No. 22 Norcross tussle Thursday in the Georgia state AAAAA semifinals. It's a matchup that began the regular season for both teams. McEachern won that first game 55-43 and has to be the favorite in the rematch.
The Indians' national resume includes a four-point win over No. 8 Hoover and a nine-point victory over No. 5 Riverdale. Norcross lost to Hoover by 14 and Riverdale by 13. McEachern, which has six players signed with or committed to Division I colleges, has won its three state tournament games so far by an average of 42.3 points.
Norcross is the two-time defending state champion and has the state's best player, Diamond DeShields, the No. 3 prospect in the ESPNU HoopGurlz Super 60 for the 2013 class. She is back from a left wrist fracture. Norcross lost to state powers Mill Creek (by 14) and North Gwinnett (by 28) while DeShields was sidelined, and beat them by 17 and 15 after her return.
If McEachern wins, then claims the state title on Friday, it will finish No. 2. If Norcross pulls the upset, Whitney Young, which won the Illinois 4A state title and finished 34-0 last week, would claim the second spot. Whitney Young used four overtimes to knock off Bolingbrook in a matchup that, like McEachern-Norcross, was more fitting for a state title game.
