From Staff Reports
By holding Mt. de Sales without a point for 10 minutes in
the second half, the Westfield girls basketball team reached the finals of the
GISA Region 2-AAA tournament held at Tattnall Square. In Tuesday’s semifinal
matchup, the Lady Hornets went from trailing by three at the half to winning
43-36.
Westfield took the first quarter 14-8, but had its bad
shooting spell in the second quarter. The Lady Cavaliers, with 13 in the
second, went into the break ahead 21-18.
But the third quarter elapsed and MDS was stuck on 21
points. Cass Cassell’s girls shot ahead by 10, 31-21, and held on despite
giving up 15 in the fourth.
McKinley Walton had a double-double with 13 points and 11
rebounds. Katlyn Moseley and Valerie McLure each scored eight, and Callie
Hammerle added seven.
Westfield’s boys basketball team did not have the same
success in Tuesday’s semifinal with Stratford. The Hornets lost 60-44.
“We missed a lot of
easy shots early in the game and never recovered from the deficit we built
early,” said head coach Jake Walls. “Barrett Stanley played great defense on
Cephus. Giles Amos worked hard on both ends of the floor as well and really
played well.”
REGION 2-AAAAA
The Region 2-AAAAA
basketball tournaments for boys and girls began Tuesday and Wednesday at Jones
County High, and five of the six county teams qualified for state tournament
competition with first-round victories. These were also the first games of the
2012-13 season for county teams against the A sub-region clubs located in
Columbia County.
The
girls played first on Tuesday, and it was an historic night for the Houston
County High Lady Bears. John Roddie’s club will play in the GHSA bracket for
the first time in six years after coming back from 10 points down in the fourth
quarter to defeat Grovetown 46-44. Karissa Engram scored nine of her 13 points
in the fourth.
Northside’s
Lady Eagles also had to rally in the final regulation period, but shot past
Greenbrier 53-46 to continue a long string of state appearances under coach
Casandra Wilson. The Lady Eagles broke open a tight game with a 10-0 run. Sophomore
forward Mekhaela Witherspoon led all scorers with 20 points.
In the
final game Tuesday, Warner Robins High, looking for a third-straight tournament
title, won against Lakeside-Evans 42-31. Asha Stegall scored 10 points to lead
the Demonettes.
In boys action Wednesday, the Demons of Warner Robins
ensured a return to state competition after a long absence while the rival
Northside Eagles kept the dream of a repeat region championship alive.
Warner
Robins senior Carlos Scott made five foul shots in the final 1:11 as the Demons
held off Lakeside-Evans 61-57. Scott finished with 24 points, which included
three 3-point shots.
Scott hit
both ends of a one-and-one to give the Demons a 54-48 lead with 1:11 remaining.
Lakeside’s B.J. Raymond hit a 3-pointer, but again Scott knocked down a pair of
free throws. Juvuan Shine also made a pair of free throws with five seconds on
the clock and finished with 11 points for coach Jamaal Garman.
Warner
Robins not only made state for the first time in six years, but also won a
region tournament game for the first time since 2007.
The Northside
Eagles didn’t have quite as much drama in topping Greenbrier 77-55. They led
25-13 after the first quarter and 48-24 at half.
Justin
Burnam (18), Jarius Smith (14) and Kyle Johnson (11) each scored in double
figures for Northside.
The Houston
County Bears, however, fell short of an upset bid, but only after guard Monte
Harris’ 3-point shot at the buzzer was deflected by an Evans’ defender. The
Knights won 60-57, but not before Harris hit a crucial 3-pointer.
Senior
Andrew Graham scored 24 points to lead the Bears. Davon Akins added 15 before
fouling out in the fourth quarter.
HHJ News
