Bad Links?
Other glitches?
Notify Webmaster

Sandy Creek and Fayette County girls wear region crowns

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Sandy Creek’s Lady Patriots recently won the first region title for a girls team in school history by winning three games in a row in the region 4-AAAA championship. According to coach Jim Waller, this historic win is the result of hard work over the last four years.

“I’m elated we could play so well,” said Waller. “It says a lot about this team’s character. The hard work is paying off.”

The Lady Patriots (20-2) opened the tournament with a 67-44 win over Lithia Springs. Though the score was close a the half, Sandy Creek outscored Lithia Springs 24-12 in the third quarter to widen the lead and help seal the win. Mary Fields led the team with 20 points, while Tracey Paschal added 14. The second game was against Douglas County and once again the game was tight at the half before Sandy Creek opened it up on their way to a 68-52 win. Paschal had 26 points and 18 rebounds in the win, while Fields scored 19 and Alyssa Ruff added 15.

“Alyssa had a great tournament for us,” said Waller.

The final game of the tournament pitted the Lady Patriots against the unbeaten and fourth ranked Haralson County team. The Lady Rebels took an 11-2 lead early but Sandy Creek chipped away and stayed in the game. The score was tied at 31 at the half. The Lady Patriots followed the plan that worked in the previous two games and had an outstanding third quarter, outscoring Haralson County 21-10. Fields had 30 points for Sandy Creek, draining four three pointers and scoring 11 of the third quarter’s 21 points, while Lindsay Paschal scored 17 points in the game. Defense played a huge role in the win, as they held Haralson’s Brittany Miller and Amy Horton to well below their season average.

“It took an all-out team effort to beat Haralson County,” said Waller, who is very pleased with the way his team is playing entering the state tournament.

It is the second consecutive year for the girls to make the state tournament and their opponent, once again, is Statesboro. The Lady Blue Devils are an athletic team that is well-coached. Waller states that they are tough to beat but adds that “every team playing at this time of year is tough to beat. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

The Sandy Creek boys team (23-4) finished third in the region tournament and are currently ranked fourth in AAAA by GaSports.com. The Patriots opened with a 68-55 win over Villa Rica on Thursday with Aaron Carruthers leading the team in scoring. The team fell to Chapel Hill 76-73 the next night in an action-packed triple overtime game with Charles Belton scoring 29 points to lead the team in scoring. In the third place game, Sandy Creek defeated Lithia Springs 53-45 and got 13 points from Daniel Hendricks. The boys will open the tournament on Saturday at Statesboro and the tipoff time has yet to be announced. The Blue Devils (21-6) had won seven games in a row before losing to Wayne County in the region two title game.

In region 4-AAAAA action, Fayette County’s Lady Tigers defeated Starr’s Mill 50-39 in the region title game. Fayette County took an early lead and the Lady Panthers Angela Garza answered, scoring the team’s first 10 points. Fayette entered the locker room at the half with a 20-19 lead and entered the final quarter with a 30-28 lead. In the fourth quarter, they started to put some distance between themselves and Starr’s Mill, taking an eight point lead. The Lady Panthers fought back, draining numerous threes and trying to close the lead but Fayette County hit key free throws at the end to maintain their hold on the lead and the region title. Richea Harris led the Lady Tigers with 27 points and Angela Garza led Starr’s Mill with 12 points.

Fayette County’s boys squared off against Newnan directly after the girls game and lost 56-54. The Cougars had a 19-15 lead after the first quarter and widen it to a 31-25 lead at the half. They hit their open shots, out-rebounded the Tigers in stretches and capitalized on a number of Fayette mistakes. Fayette played a much better third quarter, getting big shots from Jordan Windisch and outstanding play from Jeremiah Enloe, who scored nine of 11 points heading into the fourth quarter and helped the Tigers take the lead. The two teams went back and forth for the rest of the game. The score was tied at 54 with 2.4 seconds left and a Newnan player drove to the basket and got fouled. Though he missed both shots, Newnan rebounded the ball and scored to seal the win. Windisch was the team’s leading scorer with 15 points, while Enloe added 13.

Fayette County’s boys will take on Douglass on Saturday, while the girls will face Riverdale on Friday at 7 p.m. The Douglass Astros (7-14) have lost seven of their last 10 games, while the Riverdale Lady Raiders (18-5) have lost three of their last five games. Starr’s Mill’s girls will also play on Friday at 7 p.m. They will host the Morrow Lady Mustangs. Morrow went 4-5 in the region and three of their five region losses were to Stephenson, the region champions.