Democracy Prep girls basketball coach Julius Barren said he expected his team and Bishop Gorman to meet again in the state semifinals after they played a thrilling game in the regular season.
He was right.
The Class 5A girls basketball state semifinals are Wednesday at Clark. With how close the regular-season games between Centennial, Democracy Prep and Gorman were, the state title is truly up for grabs.
Democracy Prep (22-3), the No. 2 seed, faces off against No. 3 Bishop Gorman (17-7), the defending champ, at 3 p.m. Top-seeded Centennial (21-2) and No. 5 Faith Lutheran (15-11) play at 6:20 p.m. The state championship game is at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Cox Pavilion.
The three regular-season games between the top three seeds were decided by three points or fewer. Democracy Prep and Gorman’s game was the closest. The Blue Knights trailed by 10 points in the second half but rallied for a 46-45 home win.
Last year, Gorman defeated Democracy Prep three times, including in the 5A state semifinals.
Both teams feature some of the state’s top guards.
Juniors Keonni Lewis and Bray’ana Miles highlight the Blue Knights’ backcourt. After helping Democracy Prep win the 2A title in 2023, Lewis missed last season with an injury. That was Democracy Prep’s first season in 5A.
Barren said Miles assumed a greater leadership role last year. He now says it’s a “luxury” to have two guards who can score and handle the ball as point guards.
“Coming into this season, it was trying to see how we could make those two coexist, to get the best out of both of them,” Barren said. “(Miles) has done a good job of allowing (Lewis) to incorporate back into what we do, but not moving to the back seat. We have two leaders. When one’s not on, the other one picks it up.”
Gorman junior Aaliah Spaight is averaging 19 points per game and leads the Gaels in shooting percentage (52 percent), rebounds (7.3 per game), assists (5.1) and steals (4.0).
Barren said Spaight is the key to everything Gorman does.
Gorman is a “pretty aggressive team similar to us,” Barren said. “They have tremendous players, but a lot of what they do is based off (Spaight). If you can limit her — you can’t stop her — but I think if you can limit her, make things tough on her, make her give the ball up and keep her out of the paint, I think that’s when things get a little bit difficult for them.”
Democracy Prep and Gorman would likely have to avenge a regular-season loss to Centennial to win the title. Centennial defeated Gorman 41-39 on Jan. 11 and Democracy Prep 59-56 on Feb. 1.
Centennial forward Nation Williams is a matchup nightmare for other 5A opponents. The 6-foot-2-inch sophomore holds notable Division I offers from South Carolina, UCLA, Maryland and Tennessee.
When Democracy Prep lost to Centennial earlier this month, the Blue Knights led 36-29 at halftime. But the Bulldogs had a 55-24 rebounding advantage and held Democracy Prep to 25-of-72 shooting, including 16.67 percent from 3-point range.
Even though Democracy Prep is a smaller team, Barren said he’s confident the Blue Knights can correct their mistakes and defeat Centennial in a rematch.
“I think that was more of us than them,” Barren said. “Those are things that we can look back on film and we can get in the gym and make some corrections. But the size will always be an issue for us. If we can come out and play to the best of our ability, I don’t think anyone in the city can beat us.”
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Class 5A girls basketball state tournament
Semifinals
Wednesday
At Clark
No. 3 Bishop Gorman vs. No. 2 Democracy Prep, 3 p.m.
No. 5 Faith Lutheran vs. No. 1 Centennial, 6:20 p.m.
Championship
Friday
At Cox Pavilion
Semifinal winners, 6:30 p.m.
