Girls basketball wins Region Championship

When the LCHS girls basketball team laces up its matching, purple-based Nike Kyrie 6’s before their State Playoff matchups, its two seniors will do so in a very particular way.
“Left sock, right sock, left shoe, right shoe, left knee pad, right knee pad.”
“I know that’s not why we win, but I feel like that gets me in the mindset,” Isabel Davenport, one half of Lumpkin’s senior duo, said.
That mindset is now shifting from the year-long slogan of “HAB 30,” which served as the team’s constant reminder of its number one goal of hanging the school’s first Region Championship banner in 30 years and was accomplished on Tuesday with a 50-46 win over Gilmer County in the Region Championship, to a more simple “Not done yet,” now setting their sights on hanging a state championship banner, the first in the school’s history.
As for the seniors that led the team to this point, it’s not too surprising that they follow the same pregame rituals, in part because of the amount of pregames they’ve shared together, between basketball and volleyball.
“We’ve been together since we were little, third grade probably,” Davenport said of the bond between her and fellow senior MaKenzie Caldwell. “Two sports together, all summer together, every day in the summer for five hours, spending time together on the court, outside going to eat...Everything that we’ve done, we’ve not done it alone and I think that’s something that’s really special. We just have this connection. We know what each other is thinking, we can tell each other stuff, it’s just really nice to have somebody like that.”
So as the final buzzer rang, claiming the first Lumpkin Girls Basketball Region Championship since 1991, Caldwell’s first instinct was to find Davenport.
“We’ve worked so hard to get to this one point in our lives, every practice, every game has been up to this one moment,” Caldwell said. “When that final buzzer rang, my first instinct was to look at Isabel. That was my go-to, I’m going to hug her, because we have been through everything together. Isabel hugged me and everyone came in running, there was no greater feeling in the world that I’ve ever experienced in my life than that moment.”
It’s not the first championship the two have won together. Not even this school year, as the dynamic duo helped win the school’s first ever Region Championship in Volleyball in the fall. For Caldwell and Davenport, their trophy-chasing days began much earlier.
“We won our third grade championship at Park and Rec, that was my first one with her,” Caldwell said. “To bring it from there to now is unreal and I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”
Caldwell agrees that the two have a special connection off the court, which she feels translates to the on-court success.
“She’s my allstar. She’s been through everything with me, good, bad, sad, happy,” she said. “It’s a huge rollercoaster and I’m so glad I got to experience it with her these last four years and even longer than that...It shows on the court I think. We lean on each other. We’re not individuals, we’re a team through and through.”

TEAM OVER ME

Whether it’s the matching shoes with which the team runs together that tip it off, or the matching knee pads that everyone sports, showing a willingness to lay it all on the line and throw one’s body to the floor for their team, head coach David Dowse’s team has proven even more through its play than appearance to be about just one thing: the team.
“What makes this team special is an accountability to each other,” Dowse said. “They don’t want to let one another down...They want to play well so as not to let their teammate and their friend down. I think that’s what makes them special and that’s what has made them successful.”
Now with the Region Tournament won and the banner hung, figuratively at least, as the team awaits the actual banner’s arrival, Dowse prepares his team for the most important part of the season.
“The very first thing we talked about after we stretched was there are three seasons in basketball,” he said. “Season one is the regular season, we won that. Season two is the Region Tournament, we won that. And season three is the state tournament and that’s the journey we’re about to embark on. We talked specifically about resetting and focus and making sure when we stepped between the lines we were all business, we were locked in and focused. And when we stepped away, to go out and have fun and enjoy the journey and enjoy each other and take it all in.”
For Davenport, who says her time wearing Lumpkin purple has been “her most favorite thing,”
refocusing on the new goals ahead was something her team has anticipated all along.
“We’ve had that goal but we always knew there was something beyond that goal because once you reach that goal, you’re going to be in the state tournament, you’re going to have more games after that,” she said. “So we’ll focus game-by-game and take it night in and night out.”
And while winning a state championship in one of the major “ball” sports at Lumpkin would be unprecedented, Davenport says that with this team, anything is possible.
“I think this team is really special and anything that we want to win, we’ll go out and win it for each other,” she said.
That journey to history began Tuesday with the team’s first round matchup against Rockmart. A win would put the Indians into the second round, scheduled for Friday against the winner of Franklin County and Westminster High School. As a No. 1 seed, Lumpkin will host all of its games at least through the second round. “A universal GHSA coin flip will determine the host school” for any matchup where both teams are the same seed.

ALL-REGION PLAYERS

The girls basketball team hauled in the awards to compliment its Region Championship last week, with five Indians claiming All-Region Honors.
Isabel Davenport, Averie Jones, MaKenzie Caldwell and Lexi Pierce were all named to the All-Region team with Mary Mullinax being named as an Honorable Mention.
Head coach David Dowse said the recognition of his individual players is especially important because it showcases teamwork can still lead to individual achievement.
“Whenever a person puts forth an effort and works toward a goal, it’s nice to be recognized,” Dowse said. “That is true in most walks of life...family, school, business and athletics. I think what is most meaningful in this situation is that our players have confirmation that buying into a team-first mentality does not limit the opportunity for personal awards and accomplishments. And, in fact, those personal accomplishments are made even more enjoyable because they are celebrated by the entire team.”
Davenport led the offense once again for the Indians, as the senior contributed 132 assists and 82-made threes, both team highs, to go along with her 112 rebounds and 358 total points on the season.
Jones provided the perfect compliment to Davenport in the backcourt, leading the team with 403 points. Jones’ confidence as a freshman is perhaps most noteworthy, taking and making the most shots from the field, while also compiling 79 assists and 97 rebounds.
That dynamic duo was made only better by the presence of Pierce, who added another layer to the offense by leading the team’s transition offense and posing yet another threat to the defense. Pierce scored 277 points, 59 assists and 86 rebounds.
Defensively, Caldwell shined for the Indians, leading the team in steals, blocks and rebounds with 90, 19 and 168 respectively, to go along with her 209 points.
Caldwell was complimented down in the post by Mullinax, who became a force on both ends by the end of the season. Mullinax tallied 278 points and 68 assists offensively while also compiling 64 steals, 57 deflections and 13 blocks on the defensive end, all to go along with 161 total rebounds.
With each player contributing in multiple ways all benefiting the team, it makes for a strong unit, propelling the team to a 22-4 record and the school’s first Region Championship in 30 years. Having all five starters honored with post-season awards says a lot about the entire team.
“It says that we have a very talented and balanced team,” Dowse said. “Each player contributes in multiple ways and at both ends of the court. It’s gratifying to know that other coaches in our region also recognize what I see every day - five talented, unselfish players whose first goal is always to contribute to the success of the team. Everything else is secondary and has a way of working itself out.”
Dowse acknowledges that individual awards have been known to distract or deter a player from focusing on the team’s goals, but doesn’t believe that will be the case with his players, who began play in the State Tournament this week.
“In the case of our five players, the awards serve as recognition for a job well done - each driven by an accountability to themselves and one another,” he said.

Check out our video story about the team by clicking here.