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State tournament basketball games start tonight

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Another level of the basketball season starts today as five high school teams from Fayette County compete in the state basketball tournaments. The three girls teams and two boys teams have played hard all season with this tournament as their goal. The new goal is to just keep winning, earning a spot in higher levels of the tournament and edging them closer to a state title. The journey begins tonight. Starr’s Mill Lady Panthers vs. Morrow Lady Mustangs, 7 p.m.

The Lady Panthers entered the region 4-AAAAA tournament as the sixth seed. They had a region record of 3-9 but that didn’t matter once the tournament began. They defeated Lovejoy 61-57 in the opening round and proceeded to beat Mundy’s Mill 42-39 in the next round before losing to Fayette County 50-39 in the championship game. Starr’s Mill is a streaky team. They get aggressive play in the post from Angela Garza and Katreesa Rollins but there are times when their shooters go cold. Though their shooting from behind the arc helped them reach the reigion final, Starr’s Mill also had two scoreless periods of almost four minutes a piece in the game. That can’t happen if the Lady Panthers are to progress in the state tournament.

Morrow is capable of putting up some points, having been held to below 40 points only once during the season. All five of Morrow’s losses were in region play and three of them came against Stephenson, the region champs.

The winner of this game plays the winner of Beach and Tift County in Macon the following week.

Fayette County Lady Tigers vs. Riverdale Lady Raiders, 7 p.m.

The Lady Tigers started off strong but stumbled a bit in the region schedule, as eight of their 10 losses were in region play. They enter the state tournament having won four games in a row and they have a decent idea of what their team is capable of. Kristin Bunch and Richea Harris have served as team leaders during the season and both came up big in the region tournament. They have to continue playing well and raising the level of play from their teammates in the state tournament. Riverdale gets a lot of points and rebounds from Laura Broomfield and Antoinette Williams. They have helped their team compile an 18-5 record this season and three of those losses came in region play. Fayette County will have to work hard in the post and make sure they come up with more rebounds than Riverdale if they are to win this game.

The winner of this game plays the winner of Glynn Academy and Coffee in Macon the following week.

Sandy Creek Lady Patriots vs. Statesboro Lady Blue Devils, 7 p.m.

Sandy Creek has had an outstanding season. They have won the first region championship for a girls basketball team in school history and they knocked off Haralson County, a team ranked fourth in the state at the time, in doing so. The Lady Patriots have won nine games in a row and are playing their best ball of the season as they start the state tournament. Mary Fields is leading the team in scoring on most nights but players like Tracey Paschal, Lindsay Paschal and Alyssa Ruff are also capable of having huge nights. the key for Sandy Creek in the state tournament is to continue playing well on defense, capitalizing on any turnovers they force other teams into and believing they can keep moving on.

Statesboro is a well-coached and athletic team that will give Sandy Creek a good game. Though they started the season winning nine of 10 games and slowed down towards the end of the season, they have proven they can put up a good amount of points on a variety of different teams.

The boys will play their first round state tournament games tomorrow.

Fayette County Tigers vs. Douglass Astros, 7 p.m.

The Tigers enter the state tournament having won three games in a row before falling to Newnan 56-54 in the region final. During the regular season they lost a numer of close games, meaning by five points or less, and they will need to overcome that obstacle to advance further in the state tournament. They are a multi-talented team that needs to play towards their talents and eliminate the scoring lulls that have let teams back into games during the season. They have players that can drive to the net like Stephan Pleasant and Sidney McFadden, a solid presence on the boards and on defense in Channing Welch and Jeremiah Enloe and a good shooter in Jordan Windisch. The Tigers are a team that needs to put the pedal to the medal and force a team into their tempo instead of the other way around. Douglass has produced some big overtime wins this season, including two over region opponents. They have been held to below 50 points three times this season and stayed to close to their opponents in a majority of their games. The Astros enter the tournament having won three of their last four games.

Sandy Creek Patriots at Statesboro Blue Devils, 7 p.m.

The Patriots really wanted to get a first round game at home but can’t be too disappointed with how they are playing. Their one loss in the region tournament came against a tough Chapel Hill team and ended 76-73 in triple overtime. Region 4-AAAA was stacked with talent this year and Sandy Creek is among the elite teams in the region. They have good all around players with Aaron Carruthers, Charles Belton and Kevin Lott among the players who could lead the team in scoring on any given night. The Patriots got where they are by playing great team defense, controlling the boards and setting the tempo of the game. If they continue to play like they are capable, they will advance in the tournament.

Statesboro looks like they are a similar team. They get solid production night in and night out from players like B.J. Fields, Adam Hein and Josh Williams, among others. They enter the tournament having won 14 of 16 games and one of those games was a 101-47 whipping of region opponent Effingham County, which suggests that the team has a deep bench because it is doubtful the starters played the whole way in that game.

To get to Statesboro High School, take I-75 South to I-16 East via Exit 165 on the left toward Savannah. Take the US-301/US-25 exit at Exit 116 toward Statesboro. Turn left on to 301, stay on 301 fro 11 miles and turn right on to E. Main Street. Lester Road is on the right.