The “833” Lady Bulldogs of Lanier capped off their magical season with a 74-50 victory of division rival Callaway. The teams played for the sixth time, and many expected the game to be a lot closer. However, it turned out to be the most lopsided. Earlier in the week, a Callaway player said that, “it doesn’t matter that they beat us five times; we’re gonna beat them in the one that counts.” A couple of the Lady Bulldogs admitted that there were some extra motivation coming into the game. Lanier jumped out on Callaway from the opening tip. Before Callaway could blink, they were down 12 points in the first quarter.
At halftime, the score was 45-26. Lanier seemed quicker and played with a purpose. Lanier smothered Callaway’s all-state guard Alisa Ross, holding her to only 7 points. Dominique “Sha Sha” Brothern put the finishing touches on her Lanier basketball career scoring 21 points in route to becoming the game’s MVP. Kierrah Jordan, the Bulldogs’ inside presence, had a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Several times you could hear Jordan yell, “And 1” as she was fouled when scoring. Callaway finished the season 18-10, with 6 of those losses to Lanier.
Forty-four years ago in 1967 was the last time that a Lanier girls’ basketball team won the state title. Making the moment even more special for the Lady Bulldogs was the fact that members from that team was in attendance cheering for them. A couple of them joined the team in their celebration in the locker room expressing how proud of the girls they were. They were even brought to tears as they spoke about how far basketball has come since they last won.
Coach Jonas James is the head coach of the Lady Bulldogs. He said coming into the season, the girls told him that they were going undefeated. While that initially wasn’t his ultimate goal, as the season progressed, he saw it become more and more real. Not only is it hard going undefeated, but the domination his team showed was phenomenal. The closest team that had a chance of winning was Murrah, who only lost by 5. “Murrah came to play that night, give’em credit.” Jones recounts. “I’m just so happy for the girls.” he added.
Lanier’s girls have made their own mark once again. With the talent and work ethic they have in place, it shouldn’t take another 44 years for that to happen again. Often overshadowed by their male counterparts, the Lady Bulldogs brought home the gold ball this season.
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