GAINESVILLE — Habersham Central used an 18-0 run in the first half to grab the lead and then held off a furious fourth quarter Gainesville rally in a 48-46 nail-biting win at the Gainesville gym.
The win moved the Lady Raiders (14-6, 6-2 Region 8-6A), who have won three straight, into second place in the region standings. The loss for the Lady Red Elephants (17-2, 5-2 Region 8-6A) snapped their four-game win streak and dropped them into third place.
The game was close in the early going with Gainesville holding a 12-8 advantage before Habersham exploded to eventually take a 26-14 lead at the half as they held the Lady Red Elephants to just one Zaria Williams basket, with 4 seconds to go in the first half, in the second quarter.
The Lady Raiders looked to be in control taking a 37-26 lead into the fourth. But the Gainesville offense caught fire.
Julia Payne poured in 8 of her 22 points in the final period, including a 3-pointer with just 20 seconds left, after back-to-back Habersham turnovers to get within 48-46. The Gainesville defense then forced a stop to get the last shot but Kedria Young’s attempt in the waning seconds could not find the mark.
Kyia Barrett led Habersham Central with 18 points, 13 coming in the first half during the big run. Sataria Cantrell added 10 points and McKenzie Chitwood 9 for the Lady Raiders.
Young finished with 14 and Williams had 10 for Gainesville.
CHESTATEE 53,
MADISON COUNTY 36
Riley Black had 23 and Caroline Bull had 18 to lead the Lady War Eagles (16-6, 6-2 Region 8-4A North) to a win in region crossover play.
Chestatee started fast, running out to a 17-4 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. The Lady Raiders (7-13, 3-3 Region 8-4A South) trimmed the lead to 27-17 by halftime but the Lady War Eagles extended their lead to 41-25 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lady War Eagles will travel to East Hall on Tuesday in a Region 8-4A North battle.
CHEROKEE BLUFF 65,
CEDAR SHOALS 52
The Lady Bears won their fourth straight game with a Region 8-4A crossover game at home.
Emma Reynolds recorded a double-double for Bluff (12-8, 5-3 Region 8-4A North) with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and she added 3 steals and 3 blocks as well. Mia Williams added 11 points, Claire Carlson had 9 points and 9 assists, Audrey Graham chipped in 9 points, and Kaitlin Cook had 8 points for the Lady Bears.
Cherokee Bluff has a huge game on Tuesday at North Hall as it tries to climb back into the top tier of the subregion.
FLOWERY BRANCH 65,
WINDER-BARROW 39
The Lady Falcons held the Lady Bulldoggs to 9 points or less in three of the four quarters in taking a Region 8-5A win on the road.
Branch (13-9, 6-3 Region 8-5A) pulled into a second-place tie with Jefferson (7-15, 6-3 Region 8-5A) with the win. But the Lady Dragons swept the season series and own the head-to-head tiebreaker if they finish tied.
The Lady Falcons opened the game with an 18-9 run and held Winder-Barrow (5-17, 3-7 Region 8-5A) to just 9 points in the second while building a 31-18 lead. Winder-Barrow cut the lead to 44-22 heading into the fourth but was held to just 6 points down the stretch as Branch pulled away.
Bella Brick paced Branch with 22 points. Amyia Scott added 16 points and Jess Tamplin had 14 for the Lady Falcons.
BUFORD 69,
MILL CREEK 47
Ava Grace Watson poured in 26 points to lead the Class 7A second-ranked Lady Wolves to a Region 8-7A road win on Friday.
Despite the lopsided win, Buford (19-1, 7-0 Region 8-7A) trailed the Lady Hawks (10-8, 3-4 Region 8-7A) 15-13 early. The Lady Wolves turned up the pressure in the second and third quarters.
Buford outscored Mill Creek 19-6 in the second and 20-7 in the third to take a 52-28 lead into the fourth.
Betty Nguyen and Cadence Jenkinson each had 10 points for the Lady Wolves.
Isabella Ragone led Mill Creek with 15 points.
LUMPKIN COUNTY 75,
GILMER 23
The Class 3A No. 2 Lady Indians won their fourth straight Region 7-3A game on Friday on the road.
Lumpkin County (17-3, 7-1 Region 7-3A) exploded for 34 first-quarter points behind 17 points from Lexi Pierce to roll out to a quick 34-9 lead. The Lady Indians did not let up in the second, outscoring the Lady Bobcats (3-16, 1-7 Region 7-3A) 20-3 to take a 54-12 halftime lead.
Mary Mullinax poured in 9 of her 24 points in the quarter and Pierce, who finished with 26 points, added another 4 in the second. Kate Jackson had 9 of her 13 and Cierra Brooks had 7 of her 11 in the first half as well.
Lumpkin County extended the lead to 74-16 heading into the fourth quarter.
The win kept Lumpkin County in first place in the region standings.
Madison Bradshaw led Gilmer with 7 points.
WHITE COUNTY 74,
WEST HALL 8
The Class 3A fourth-ranked Lady Warriors outscored the Lady Spartans 27-0 in the first quarter en route to a Region 7-3A win.
Naomi Roberts scored all 14 of her points in the opening period for White County (16-5, 6-2 Region 7-3A). Emma Lightsey scored all 13 of her points in the first half while the Lady Warriors built a 51-2 halftime lead.
Maci Shelnut had 9 points and Aaliyah Anderson and Chandler Weaver each had 8 points for White County, which had 10 players score.
Summer Orlick had 3 points to lead West Hall.
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 73,
BETHLEHEM CHRISTIAN 29
The Lady Lions stayed unbeaten in GIAA AAAA/AAA District 4 play with a blowout win at home on Friday.
Lakeview (11-11, 4-0 GIAA AAAA/AAA District 4) opened the game with a 26-9 first quarter run and cruised the rest of the way.
Taliah Gaither paced Lakeview with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Dynesty Putman added 14 points and 6 steals, Kivana Bogne had 13 points and 7 rebounds; and Madi Loggins chipped in with 7 points and 4 rebounds for the Lady Lions.
PINECREST ACADEMY 42,
LANIER CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 13
The Lady Lightning dropped a GAPPS region contest at home on Friday.
LCA fell to 11-12 overall and 4-3 in the region with the loss.
The Lady Lightning will travel to Fideles Christian on Tuesday in another region game.
