Westlake Girls 100-straight and running Georgia

Westlake Girls 100-straight and running Georgia

By Robert Alfonso Jr.

ATLANTA, GA – Going undefeated is one thing. Running the table in the state of Georgia in the highest classification is just Unbelievable.

This is the word Westlake High girls basketball coach Hilda Hankerson called to describe the programs historical run through the Peach State over the last three seasons.

For the last three seasons, the Lady Lions have smashed the gas on the competition within the state for 100 consecutive wins. Westlake’s streak will be tested again on Monday as it faces off against Forest Park in an MLK Showcase at Fayette County High.

“This isn’t anything you plan for,” said Hankerson of the milestone.

Coming into the season, Westlake needed only 10 games to reach the century mark. On Friday, top-ranked Westlake (10-0) beat third-ranked Langston Hughes to capture 58-39.

However, with this global pandemic, it is also the only games the Lady Lions have played on the season. Setting this milestone may not be anything a team initially looks to set but it is something that just sorta happened. Westlake is current record is 100-3.

The first indication of something special happening at the Atlanta-based school was at the end of last season. Just before the start of the state playoffs, someone associated with the team, mentioned how they were undefeated against teams in the state. Hankerson went back and totaled the Lady Lions wins against in-state competition.

Once things were totaled but in order to remain undefeated Westlake had to win the state championship against a formidable foe, Collins Hill, who was undefeated at the time. The Lady Lions grounded the Lady Eagles, 72-53, to end the season 90-0 against Peach State teams.  

Westlake were at the top of the mountain. It was the programs third-straight Georgia High School Athletic Association championship. This summer, Hankerson told only two people the program needed 10 more wins to remain undefeated against teams in Georgia.

Getting to this milestone was not necessarily a guarantee. Covid has forced many events to be canceled and schedules adjusted. Westlake pushed conference games up in place of tournaments they were going to play leaving them with some open dates in February.

Adjusting schedules is nothing for Hankerson, who served as the schools athletics director for 12 years. Being a virtual employee for the CDC is something new for the 26 year coach with more than 600 career wins.

Before games and practices, Hankerson is going through all the CDC protocols. Basketball are sanitized. The locker room is not used unless it is during a game. Each player has an assigned chair the socially distant seating on the sideline. She double cheeks sanitized areas and sometimes does it herself just to make certain it was done.

“I carry extra masks and a temperature reader in my bag,” Hankerson said. “It feels like I work for the CDC.”

While the new game day routine is different there is still a constant with the Westlake basketball program. Hankerson is on the sideline and seniors Raven Johnson (a South Carolina signee ranked No. 2 nationally) and Brianna Turnage (a Virginia Tech commit ranked 61 nationally) are the only players who can say they have been apart of all 100 wins.

“This is about a legacy,” Hankerson said. “We may not see this happen again.”