Fort Worth Dunbar brings 4A championship back home

by Sonya Grogg

The Dunbar girls basketball team won its second title in three years on Saturday.

The Lady Wildcats were able to revel in the glorious feeling of being better than every other 4A girls basketball team on Saturday. Dunbar (32-4) beat Dickinson 62-51 in the Frank Erwin Center.

For the past three seasons, the team has been one of the top teams in the state. Last year's loss in the semifinals to Waxahachie, who went on to win the title, powered the Lady Wildcats this season. Led by junior center Brooklyn Pope (6'2) , the team took on a tougher schedule of games in order to get back atop the 4A. It appears the strategy paid off.

Pope usually averages more than her 13 points scored against Dickinson, but it was her defense that came up big. She finished with 10 blocks and grabbed 11 boards. She left the scoring to teammate Lashandra Hill.

Hill, a senior who is SMU-bound, scored 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting. She added eight rebounds and five steals, which helped her garner the MVP honors for the game.

With three straight state tournament appearances and two titles, one can suspect Dunbar will be picked as one of the favorites for the 2008 championship. The squad will return three starters: Pope, who is ranked No. 5 on HoopGurlz.com's national list, Tiesha Martin and Taylor Collier.

Collier finished with 16 points and 9 boards in the championship game.