FORT OGLETHORPE, Ga. - It's not uncommon for high school sports teams to say they're family.
In the case of the Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe girls' basketball program, those ties are very real - and they're a special part of the turnaround that has taken the Lady Warriors from 0-19 last season to legitimate contenders for the GHSA Class AAA state championship this year.
LFO is 24-1 and has a bye into the Region 6-AAA tournament semifinals this week, meaning the Lady Warriors will finish no worse than fourth and already have a state berth locked up. Their only loss this season is to Tennessee power Bradley Central, and the highlights have included a dominant title run at the Times Free Press Best of Preps tournament in late December.
Of 19 players on coach Dewayne Watkins' roster, 10 are sisters - there are five sets - including junior Angel Simmons, who has led LFO's extraordinary press defense, and senior point guard Princess Simmons, who has averaged seven assists and more than five steals per game. The Simmons sisters have made the most of their opportunity after having to sit out last season due to transferring in from Lookout Valley.
"When the season started, Coach Watkins said you are either all the way in or you're out," Princess said. "We took some hits last year, but we all kept working knowing this year we had a chance to do something special. Our focus from day one has been to play hard together on the court and to get to the state tournament."
When Christina Collins was a freshman, she averaged 18.2 points, 2.5 steals and eight rebounds per game, and she had three 30-point games. She then missed most of last season due to injury, but as a junior she has been able to share the workload on the court, including with her sister Christen, a freshman.
LFO's extraordinary lineup of shooters was showcased during the Best of Preps tourney, when the Lady Warriors totaled 37 3-pointers in their three games, averaging more than 82 points and outscoring their opponents by an average of 41. Christen's pure form and confidence have helped her shoot better than 50% from 3-point range - she made seven shots behind the arc in the first half of one game - and average a team-high 17.6 points per game.
"What is so dangerous about this team is we can score in a lot of different ways," Watkins said. "Christen and Angel are great 3-point shooters who can explode to the basket as well. Christina can do everything on the court, and Princess is so scrappy and makes some of the best outlet passes you will ever see.
"They all have benefited off one another's strengths, and our team has really bought in and they compete on every play."
LFO's sister sets also include senior twins Skye and Star Alexander, as well as Mercedes and Ziara Thompson plus Piper and Presley Piatt. Mercedes is a freshman, Presley and Ziara are sophomores and Piper is a junior.
As one could imagine, practices can get pretty heated when sisters are going against each other to try to make the other better.
"We have this box-out drill in practice that is intense and fun when the sisters are going against one another," Princess Simmons said. "We are all very competitive and want to win. While we may argue here and there, we all have our sister's back on the court. Our chemistry is top-tier because we have so many siblings. The connections we build are as a family with this team."
The Lady Warriors have outscored their opponents on average 67-37 this season, and now they hope to make a memorable run in the playoffs.
"What's great about this team is we have a little bit of everything," said Christina Collins, who has averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds per game. "We are a great defensive team who can really shoot the 3 or take you off the dribble. We have put it all together. Being a complete team is hard to beat. We bring a lot to the table."
In 2009, LFO was the state runner-up to Carrollton. This group of Lady Warriors will try to take things one step further.
"We can beat anybody," Christina said. "When we go out on the court, we are bringing all the smoke."
Watkins has enjoyed watching the team come together to play exceptional basketball, and he hopes that's the case well into March.
"These girls don't back away from anybody," he said. "They understand our goal was never to be undefeated. We want to win the region championship, and our biggest goal is to win state. We think we are in that top echelon of four or five teams who can really have a shot at that state championship."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.