Africentric girls collect 11th City League title

One by one, Africentric’s players and coaches cut down the nets Saturday after winning another City League girls basketball championship.

This was just a dress rehearsal, however. With the Division III tournament on deck, the Nubians hope to perform the ritual three more times in the next five weeks.

“This never gets old,” said coach Will Mckinney after Africentric beat Northland 64-36 before an appreciative crowd at South. It marked the 11th City title for the 15-year old program. “It just means another step … more cement for the whole Africentric Nubian legacy.”

Ranked No. 3 nationally by USA Today and No. 4 by Maxpreps, Africentric (20-0) will be heavily favored to win a seventh state title.

Africentric’s resume already includes wins over four Division I powers: six-time champion Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame, Dublin Coffman, Newark and Westerville South, along with two-time defending Michigan champion Detroit Edison, defending Illinois champ Schlarman Academy and four-time regional champion Chicago Kenwood. Saturday’s opponent, Northland (16-6), was no slouch, either.

“We’re not only trying to win the state, we’re trying to make history,” said Tennessee signee Jordan Horston, one of only two seniors on the team.

Doing her best impersonation of Magic Johnson, the sublimely skilled 6-foot-1 point guard had 11 points, nine assists and seven rebounds despite sitting out much of the fourth quarter.

Sakima Walker, a 6-4 sophomore center who had 15 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots, said Africentric’s players talked about goals for this season in the locker room after winning the state title last March.

“We talked about being the first team here to go undefeated and go back-to-back,” she said. “We knew we had a chance to be special. We’re young, we’re talented, we’re extremely close and we’re always hungry for more.”

Junior Alexia Smith added 12 points for Africentric, which raced to leads of 14-0 and 20-2.

“I’ve always said that we’re built like a college team,” Mckinney said. “We go 6-4 and 6-2 with 6-footers at guard. We really have the total package of size, skill and big-game experience.”

The Nubians are without junior guard Nyam Thornton, who suffered a broken left hand and is hopeful of returning during the postseason.

sblackledge @dispatch.com @Blackiepreps