Allderdice girls ready to defend City League title against rival Obama Academy

By: William Whalen
Friday, February 22, 2019 | 5:06 PM

When Allderdice third-year coach Ellen Guillard walks her team onto the hardwood floor of Pitt’s Petersen Events Center Saturday to face Obama Academy in the City League girls basketball championship game, things will have come full circle for her and the Dragons.

Obama Academy is the team that handed Guillard her first title-game loss back in 2017. The loss hurt and is still fresh in her memory.

“When I first came into this, they were the team on top,” said Guillard, who is looking to lead her Dragons to their second consecutive City League title. “We are all friendly with each other. It’s like we don’t know who (they) are (when we step on the court). It’s like ‘300’ the movie.”

Allderdice (16-7, 10-0) will face Obama Academy (15-7, 8-2) at noon Saturday.

“It’s a healthy rivalry,” Obama Academy coach Monique McCoy said. “The two teams, they get along so well. I like to call it a healthy and competitive rivalry. They know that once when they play one another, they step on the floor and once the buzzer goes off its back to being besties.”

For 32 minutes on Saturday, besties will need to stay in the locker rooms, and ball players will emerge onto the floor. The 2017 championship game loss to the Eagles is the last time Allderdice fell to Obama Academy. Since then, the Dragons are riding a four-game win streak.

“(We) love big games,” Guillard said. “They love being down and they love obstacles. That’s our mentality, that gets us up. We had a big upset this year against Thomas Jefferson, and we love coming into things knowing that it’s not going to be easy for us.”

Allderdice enters Saturday’s championship game after defeating Brashear, 65-25, in Tuesday’s semifinals. The Dragons are averaging 58.3 points and giving up 45.

The Dragons swept the Eagles during the regular season with a 55-46 win at Obama Academy followed by a convincing 72-43 victory at home. But none of that means anything to Guillard; it’s the postseason and no team can take anything for granted.

The key for Allderdice is in the paint. The Dragons have to fight for rebounds against an Eagles team that dominates the boards.

“Obama (Academy’s) strength is that they have a lot of bigger bodies to get rebounding,” Guillard said. “It’s always been in their DNA. We (play) a pick-up-game kind of basketball.”

It’s no secret the Dragons offense runs through 4-foot-11 junior point guard Emma Waite. Waite might be short in stature but opponents would be wise not to underestimate her.

“She is like dynamite,” Guillard said. “Big things come out of that little package for her, and she keeps getting back up.”

Waite, who is getting looks from several colleges, leads the Dragons with 15 points per game and is considered Allderdice’s best 3-point shooter. Over the last two games, Waite has connected on 11 3-pointers, including six in the win over Brashear.

“‘Gnat at a barbecue.’ That’s her nickname from me,” joked Guillard.

Junior 5-7 guard Sophia North averages 14 points, and junior 5-7 guard Brooklyn Jones rounds out the Dragons backcourt. Jones picked up an offer from Niagara and has received interest from nearby Duquesne. Junior swingman Nautica Burwell averages 10 points, and 6-foot freshman center Sidney Lightning will need to stand tall in the paint for the Dragons. Lightning has averaged a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds per game.

“Their rebounding ability, size, height and the fact that they are very long in every position, that makes me nervous,” Guillard said.

The Eagles arrive at the Pete having knocked off a tough Westinghouse team, 59-56, in the semifinals. Obama Academy defeated Allderdice in the 2014 and ‘17 title games. The ‘14 win sparked a four-year title run for the Eagles. Obama Academy is back in the championship game after falling to Westinghouse, 44-33, in last season’s semifinals.

“Our ultimate goal, since we didn’t get there last year, was getting to the championship,” McCoy said. “They have really come together and worked to get to where we’re going to be on Saturday.”

The Eagles have averaged 52.2 points while giving up a City-League best 37.7.

“I don’t think there’s a coach in America that doesn’t talk about defense,” McCoy said. “We really have to play tenacious defense, and we have to be able to break the press, not be pressured, and of course, put the ball in the basket.”

McCoy has assembled a team of interchangeable parts where every player’s role can change during a game. The Eagles will look to a trio of seniors in Talia Mitchell, Machia Hairston and Kennedy Jetter to lead the way.

Harrison is the Eagles’ top defender while Jetter is the 3-point threat. Junior forward Javonna Perkins is Obama Academy’s top rebounder, and sister, freshman Samaree Perkins, has blossomed into the Eagles’ most consistent scorer. McCoy said freshman Rickie Johnson will also get some time off the bench.

One other key for Obama Academy is the Eagles need to have high energy and enthusiasm. McCoy knows Allderdice will.

“They’re intense ball players, fundamentally sound and coached very well,” McCoy said about Allderdice. “Our last year, when we beat them, you knew that class was going to be a force to be reckoned with, and they very much are.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Allderdice, Obama Academy