Democracy Prep and Bishop Gorman’s girls basketball teams will likely play again in two weeks in the Class 5A state semifinals.
If the sequel is anything like Wednesday night’s meeting, fans are in for another great game.
Democracy Prep rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, and the Blue Knights, No. 2 in the Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, held on for a 46-45 home win over No. 3 Gorman in front of a rambunctious capacity home crowd.
“These are the games, and it’s a possession and you got to execute,” Democracy Prep coach Julius Barren said. “You got to fight through the turnovers and adversity, and today we were able to do that. (Gorman) has phenomenal players over there, so for us, it was trying to make sure we execute more than them and we were able to do that.”
Gorman guard Aaliah Spaight’s 3-pointer in the final seconds hit off the front of the rim, and Democracy Prep secured the rebound and the win on senior night.
With the win, Democracy Prep has locked up the No. 2 seed in the state playoffs, which begin with quarterfinal action Feb. 13. Centennial will be the top seed, and Gorman will be No. 3.
“I don’t know what it is about our team, all season long in the big games against the high-profile teams, we start down and get ourselves in a hole,” Barren said. “I hate to say it, but we like to fight from behind. It’s a tough position to be in, but I don’t know, that’s our DNA.”
Junior guard Bray’ana Miles led Democracy Prep (20-3, 11-1 5A Southern League) with 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds with three steals and two assists. Keonni Lewis added 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“We finally put a whole game, four quarters together,” Miles said. “… I felt like the crowd played a big part in it. Everybody was screaming on our side.”
Miles gave the crowd plenty to cheer for to start the fourth quarter. Gorman’s largest lead was 33-23 late in the third quarter, and the Gaels (15-7, 10-2) held a 35-27 advantage going into the fourth.
Miles knocked down a step-back 3-pointer for the first points of the quarter, and on the ensuing possession, Lewis grabbed a Gorman miss and threw a long pass to Miles. The 5-foot-3-inch guard caught the pass in transition and spun around a Gorman defender to cut the deficit to 35-32.
Democracy Prep tied it twice in the final 3:30 and took its first lead since the first quarter on a Miles layup to go ahead 44-42 with 1:05 left.
Miles “has been Ms. Consistent for us,” Barren said. “It’s a cool demeanor; she never loses her composure. I let her know, ‘You’re one of the best players in the state. You got to get on the floor every night and make people believe that.’ And again, she was solid and consistent, and she was big for us.”
Spaight gave Gorman another chance with a three-point play with 12 seconds left, and Teira Bell forced a Democracy Prep turnover to give the Gaels one final shot to win the game.
But the Blue Knights came up with one last stop to secure the win.
“Everybody overlooks us because we’re just so little,” Miles said. “We always come out and give them a fight. It’s never an easy win.”
Spaight paced Gorman with 17 points, and Kenzee Holton added 14 points.
La’Niah Hicks scored six of her eight points in the fourth quarter, and freshman Ella Smith was 4-for-4 at the free-throw line down the stretch to help Democracy Prep rally and take the lead.
Democracy Prep won the 2A state title in 2023 and moved up to 5A last season. Gorman defeated the Blue Knights three times last season, including in the state semifinals.
Democracy Prep is coming off a 59-56 home loss to No. 1 Centennial on Saturday. The three games among Centennial, Democracy Prep and Gorman have all been decided by three points or fewer.
“It’s going to be a battle, but I believe in us,” Barren said. “I think every night we step on the floor, we’re the favorites. We’ll see (Gorman) again, so we can’t hang onto it too much.”
Contact Alex Wright at [email protected]. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
