By Blaine Kellar for Main Street Preps
Brianna Burgess is quickly becoming synonymous with the honor of Most Valuable Player.
Following Creek Wood’s 66-36 win in the District 9-3A championship against White House, the junior guard picked up her third consecutive district and district tournament MVP awards.
She put up 30 points in the championship game, and the Lady Red Hawks won their third consecutive district title.
“It’s super exciting,” Burgess said. “I love to do it with the team that I have. To accomplish this goal – this goal that we’ve had since the beginning of the season – I love to accomplish it with this team.”
Burgess put up 21 of her game-high total by the halftime break. She made all five of her team’s 3-point shots in the first half as Creek Wood (25-4) jumped out to a 33-15 lead.
A full-court press caused fits for White House (17-12) all night long. The Lady Blue Devils committed 22 turnovers and failed to connect on shots in both halves. Burgess, Abby Owen, Hannah Guthrie and Laura Nichols all drilled triples for Creek Wood in the final two quarters to build upon their lead.
“Our girls got after it tonight,” said Lady Hawks coach Russell Wilson. “We caused a few turnovers, and the turnovers led to points. That allowed us to get a few easy baskets early. Some in-rhythm perimeter shots were falling tonight, so it was a good game. I thought they played well.”
All-district nomination Marley Hyde led the Lady Blue Devils on offense with 13 points. Creek Wood swept the regular-season series between the two teams, but Monday’s game was the largest margin of defeat by far for White House.
“Their press definitely slowed us down,” head coach Bailey Foulke said. “We’ve seen more intense presses, but it slowed us down and it got us back to where (Creek Wood) wanted it.
“As crazy as it might sound, I would love to see Creek Wood again. As long as we can get over the game that we just finished, my girls can put up a heck of a fight against anyone.”
The win marks the third consecutive district championship for the Lady Red Hawks, and their first in Class 3A.
They’ll ride a 17-game winning streak into Friday’s Region 5-3A game against Valor Prep. White House will host Hume Fogg the same evening.
“It’s tough to do that, moving up from AA to AAA, but our team overcame that and was able to get the victory,” Burgess said.
“Since we’ve been on a winning streak, we’ve had more confidence. Our confidence is higher, so I think that’ll help us to play better with the higher confidence we have.”
BOX SCORE:
Creek Wood (66): Brianna Burgess 30, Laura Nichols 21, Alessia Nesbitt 8, Hannah Guthrie 4, Abby Owen 3.
White House (36): Marley Hyde 13, Carmen Perkins 9, Chloe Hart 8, Abigail Bradley 4, Faithe Johnstone 1, Sydney Richardson 1.
District 9-3A All-Tournament:
MVP: Brianna Burgess – Creek Wood
Laura Nichols – Creek Wood
Bryanna Moore – Creek Wood
Marley Hyde – White House
Faithe Johnstone – White House
Taya Totten – Portland
Ashley Marshall – Greenbrier
All-District 9-3A:
MVP: Brianna Burgess – Creek Wood
Laura Nichols – Creek Wood
Alessia Nesbitt – Creek Wood
Ashley Marshall – Greenbrier
Abby Stacey – Greenbrier
Marley Hyde – White House
Faithe Johnstone – White House
Taya Totten – Portland
Rayleigh Hester – Portland
Sarah Rankhorn – Montgomery Central
Keli Madden – Montgomery Central
Photos by Phil Stauder
