Buford Lady Wolves 2016-2017 State Championship Season Summary
There are countless challenges to a collective journey as a team. The Buford Lady Wolve’s women basketball culture and program places the highest value on winning beyond the scoreboard. And sometimes success in basketball can mask what is most valuable about team sports. Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is more important than the outcome. The benefits of an accomplished journey cannot be weighed in terms of perfect moments, but in terms of how the journey affects and changes your character. Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination. And many times to take a giant step forward, you have to first take a painful, honest, introspective step backwards…
Being eliminated by eventual Georgia AAA State Champion Americus-Sumter from a third consecutive State Finals appearance in 2016 was a hard pill to swallow for a returning team of seasoned, experienced playmakers. That defeat, coupled with playing in a higher classification and new region, would mean summer preparation at a dizzying intensity. The continued success of the Buford Lady Wolves basketball tradition rests securely on tireless work ethic. Every weekday during the month of June, the Lady Wolves have already finished a few workouts before most of their classmates have rolled out of bed. The summer of 2016 was work at a different level.
Soft regular season schedules equal tournament disappointment. Successful programs need quality competition. Early season losses to an extremely talented St. Francis team and rival Wesleyan would serve as invaluable opportunities to learn hard lessons about the cost of greatness. Moving up to 5A would mean new and unfamiliar region opponents for the Buford Lady Wolves. And while the Lady Wolves would go undefeated in region play, winning the Region Tournament, a rivalry would emerge from the Lady Falcons of Flowery Branch, a school only a few miles north. The Lady Wolves would defeat Flowery Branch three times, the third being for the GHSA 8AAAAA Region Tournament Championship.
Winning the GHSA 8AAAAA Tournament would earn the Lady Wolves home court advantage, and after dominating victories at home in the first two rounds, the Lady Wolves hit the road for an Elite 8 game against a formidable Warner Robbins team that proved concerning to all. The Lady Wolves would exert their will and earn a convincing 77-56 victory, propelling the Lady Wolves into the Final Four against a lauded Griffin Lady Bears team. A dominating Final Four victory against Griffin would propel the Lady Wolves into the State Championship game. And this time, for the first time, the Lady Wolves would not travel south to Macon. They would journey east… to the University of Georgia… to face perennial power Southwest Dekalb…
The final step on the journey to Athens would best be described as convincing. A second quarter offensive explosion and relentless full court pressure from our Lady Wolves would demoralize Southwest Dekalb. The Lady Wolves would keep their foot on the gas in the second half and Buford would cruise to a 60-42 victory and capture the Georgia High School Association’s Class AAAAA Girls State Championship. To add to the euphoria of winning the fifth State Championship in Buford Lady Wolves’s storied tradition, the Buford Wolves mens basketball team would win their first state championship, making the 2017 women’s and mens teams the first to win dual state championships in Buford history.
Along with earning the title of 2017 GHSA AAAAA State Champions, the Buford Lady Wolves also earned the title of GHSA 8AAAAA Region Champions and were named 2016-17 Team of the Year by the Gwinnett Tipoff Club.
Four members of the 2016-17 Buford Lady Wolves will never again wear the Kelly and Gold, but it means something to be a part of such a storied tradition and legacy. Senior Pamela “Snoody” Johnson will pursue a career in medicine at Mercer University. Snoody was named to the GHSA 8AAAAA All Region Team and was GTOC Player of the Month. Senior Marissa Bruce will continue her basketball career at USC-Aiken. Marissa was also named GTOC Player of the Month and GHSA 8AAAAA All Region Team. Senior Rachel “Mighty Mouse” Dobbs will take her long-distance sniper shooting to Young Harris College. Rachel was named to the GTOC All Academic Team. Senior Zikaya Wright signed with Chattanooga State University to play basketball.
Junior guard and Michigan State commit Tory Ozment would earn numerous post season honors for her stellar junior season: AJC AAAAA Player of the Year, AJC 1st Team All State, Atlanta Tipoff Club All Metro 2nd Team, Atlanta Tipoff Club All Metro Team, Atlanta Tipoff Club Team of the Year 2nd Team, GACA AAAAA North Player of the Year, GACA AAAAA North All State, GACA Junior All Star Team, Gwinnett Tipoff Club All Gwinnett County 1st Team, Gwinnett Tipoff Club Player of the Month, Gwinnett Tipoff Club 1st Team All Gwinnett County, and GHSA 8AAAAA Region Player of the Year. Junior sharpshooter Audrey Weiner would be named to the GTOC All Gwinnett County 2nd Team, GACA AAAAA All State Team, GHSA 8AAAAA All Region Team, and was a Gwinnett Daily Post Player of the Week.
Winning a state championship — wearing a state championship ring — is an incredible achievement that represents so many things. The 2016-17 Buford Lady Wolves understand that it is what most people never see that becomes the most valuable part.
This was a journey. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t always pretty. But it is our journey: TOGETHER.
Our journey to Athens.
