By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

It seems like only yesterday that the high school basketball season began and now the regular season and regional tournaments are past us. Fear not. The state basketball tournaments will begin this Friday and Fayette County is sending some representatives.

The Lady Chiefs of McIntosh won the region and will be the top seed from Region 4-AAAA in the tournament. They defeated East Coweta, at East Coweta, in the last seconds to win the region championship. The game went back and forth between the two squads for the entire match. Both teams made amazing offensive plays and defensive stands. Going into the final quarter, the Lady Indians had a four point edge over McIntosh, but the Lady Chiefs would not be pushed aside.

Jessi Prahl was told to stick to Kristy Gaines in the fourth quarter. Though Prahl eventually fouled out, gaines was controlled as much as possible in the fourth allowing for Britte Hardy to make the final shot for McIntosh and win the game. Prahl led the Chiefs in scoring with 18 points, wile Hardy finished with 14 points. The schedule for the state tournament will be announced later in the week.

The Fayette County Tiger basketball team hosted the boys portion of the region 4-AAAA basketball tournament and though they did not win it all, they did secure a bid for the upcoming state tournament.

The Tigers defeated Griffin in the game for third place, before rivals Newnan and East Coweta played for the region championship. Fayette County got outstanding play from the team, especially William Moore and Rodney Plair who combined for 48 of the team's 72 points. Griffin was one of the region favorites going into the tournament, but got shocked. They will be a fourth seed in the upcoming tournament and a potential spoiler themselves.

Sandy Creek's boys team and Starr's Mill's girls team saw themselves eliminated from their tournaments. The Patriots played a close game with the Riverdale Raiders but were edged out in the fourth quarter, losing 58-50. William Belton led Sandy Creek in scoring with 14 points. L.T. Lockett chipped in 13 points and Jermaine Harris added 11, but it was not enough. The Patriots will return most of their squad next year, with the exception of Harris, and should be a contender next year.

The Starr's Mill Lady Panthers faced Woodward Academy in the second round of their tournament and got drubbed, 56-29. The game started slowly for both schools. The score at the end of the first quarter was 6-4, Woodward, and it was only 19-15 at the half. The Lady War Eagles pulled away in the third quarter and held a 19 point lead in the fourth quarter. Kacy Murray led Starr's Mill in scoring with seven points. Though it was a disappointing end for the Lady panthers, they will be playing in a new region next year.

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