Lady Eagles hold on at the buzzer to beat Lady Patriots in last game of 2025

WARNER ROBINS — Northside (8-3) survived Northside-Columbus’ (5-6) final shot in the final seconds of Tuesday’s game in the Eagles’ Nest to come out with a 43-41 win in clutch time.

A missed jumper fell into the Lady Patriots hands, and after another shot missed they grabbed the offensive rebound and put up one more for the tie. As the clock hit zero the shot rolled across the front of the rim and fell to the floor, cementing the Lady Eagles’ eighth victory of the season.

Northside played another close game against Perry the night before, that went in the Lady Panthers’ favor. Though they managed to get it done against Northside-Columbus, head coach ChoRhonda Gwaltney-Harris wasn’t all too pleased with their performance.

“I’ll still give them a C. We just pulled it out by our hair on our [chinny chin chin], but [Northside-Columbus] didn’t knock down the shot right there,” she said. “We tried to self-destruct. We’re trying to figure our stuff out still. I’m trying to find ball handlers and people that want the ball in the clutch. So we’re turning the ball over more than we should.”

“But we’re getting better at it with the turnovers. It’s just that once one [happens] we steamroll.”

It was like that for both teams, too. The Lady Patriots came out first with some quick pressure to take a 10-1 lead with 1:21 left in the first, but the Lady Eagles held them to eight points in the second as they chipped away and took a lead into halftime. They also drew sophomore Jelayna Stewart’s third foul, which hurt Northside-Columbus’ length and effectiveness in the press.

Northside led by two at the end of the last three quarters, and the teams traded runs and strings of turnovers to make it a close, defensive affair. But, there was one thing Gwaltney-Harris thought her team did well:

“I think when we turned the ball over we did a good job today of not worrying about the turnover and getting our butts back on defense,” she said. “So we could turn the ball over but then we get a stop. So I think we’re getting better at that instead of turning the ball over and getting in our heads.”

UP NEXT

The Lady Eagles start their region journey on Friday, Jan. 2 at 2 p.m. against Thomas County Central.

The Lady Patriots will wait a little longer for their region slate, playing Auburn on Friday, Jan. 2 at 1 p.m.