The first-place Bradwell Institute Lady Tigers were slotted to take on No. 2 seed Beach High School for the region 3-AAAAA championship yesterday after coach Faye Baker’s squad handed the Jenkins Lady Warriors a 49-27 loss in the semi-final game Friday evening at Savannah State University.
Lady Panther coach Carolyn Kelly and her squad were set to battle for the region 3-AAA championship Saturday afternoon after they beat West Laurens on Thursday, 46-41, and took their first win against Washington County, 42-26, Friday afternoon. They were set to face the Bravettes of Baldwin County for the region title.
The Liberty boys were taking on Washington County for the first place trophy after they downed Thomson in a close one Friday night, wining 62-58.
All three local schools claimed berths for a state run in their respective regions and will host their first games at home next week. The girls’ games are scheduled for next Friday while the Panther boys will hit the court next Saturday. The teams and times will be determined.
The First Presbyterian Christian Academy Highlanders boys are on the hunt for their second state title for class A after defeating Randolph Southern 90-61 in the first round of state playoffs at Andrew College. They were scheduled to play Oak Mountain yesterday at 7 p.m. at Andrew College.
The Lady Highlanders were eliminated after losing to Fullington 71-48 on Wednesday.
Lady Tigers
After claiming a berth for state by defeating Johnson High School at home Wednesday, the Lady Tigers clinched a first-round home game when they beat Jenkins 40-27 on Friday at Savannah State.
They took a 18-8 lead to close the first quarter and were leading 24-13 at the half as the Lady Tigers worked their defense on Lady Warriors duo Alexia Grimes and Iesha Massey.
The Tigers held Massey to 12 points, and Grimes scored only 7.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers outscored the Lady Warriors 12 to 5, taking the win.
Brytnii Speight led the offense shooting 19, Qunitunya Chapman hit 10 and Seandre Lee scored 6.
"I love that we have the task of trying to defeat one of these teams tomorrow," Baker said as she watched Beach battle Camden to see who her squad will play. "We talked all year long about being in this position and we are right where we wanted and desired to be, and for that, I congratulated them. It’s a good task that we have ahead of us. We need to come out and continue doing the things we’ve been doing all year."
Baker said they’ll stick to the game plan they’ve used to all season to earn a 23-2 record.
"We want to continue doing the same thing except do it a little bit better," she said.
The Lady Bulldogs of Beach sought to avenge the 73-39 loss the Lady Tigers handed them Feb. 3. It was the widest-margin loss Beach suffered all season. The loss put the Bulldogs in second place, but the coaches suspected the two teams would meet again for the title.
"I know he is going to be ready," Baker said of Bulldog coach Ronald Booker. "I know that he is going to come with some major adjustments. His team is going to be ready because the revenge factor is in their favor and we know we are going to have to play. We need to come out with our A game and have to play hard."
The Lady Tigers will host round one next Friday, time and team will be determined by region victories throughout class AAAAA.
Panthers
"We made it a close game," Panther coach Willie Graham said of their 62-58 win over Thomson on Friday.
Four of his Panthers scored in the double digits as Rion Brown paced the offense with 20 buckets. Jordan McRae and Terrell Johnson added 13 each and Emmanuel Fuller scored 10.
While pleased with the victory, Graham said the squad had to do better at the line.
"We made 20 out of 40," he said. "That’s 50 percent at the line and we need to do better if we want to chase a state title."
The Panthers were scheduled to play Washington County at 8:30 p.m. yesterday for a shot at first place in region 3-AAA.
"The third time was the charm," Lady Panther assistant coach Jene Singleton said of the girls’ 42-26 win over Washington. "We finally beat them when it counted the most."
In their first two meetings of the regular season, Washington handed the Lady Panther squads 53-49 and 50-46 losses.
Singleton said Lady Panther Candace Barham had a double-double game, netting 14 points and 10 rebounds to set the offensive pace. Diamone Johnson and Shontavia Clay added 6 points each.
"We were able to stop Shakima Wiggins, their key player, who usually averages 6 trey shots per game," Singleton said.
They were scheduled to play the winner of the Baldwin- Richmond Hill game Saturday night at 7 p.m. for the region 3-AAA title.
The Lady Panther will host the first round at home on Friday and the Panthers play Saturday. Times and teams will be determined.
FPCA Highlanders
The Highlanders continue their winning streak, hitting the 22-0 mark as they chase the class A state title. They defeated Randolph Southern in round one, winning 90-61 and were set to play Oak Mountain yesterday for round two in Cuthbert at Andrew College.
AJ Anlsey set the pace, hitting 23 points. Joey Bell scored 19, Mike Brown added 14, Terrence Alston hit 9 and Hakeem Golden scored 5.
Tide
The boys and girls from Ludowici were scheduled to play consolation games Saturday as both squads lost to Appling County on Friday. The Lady Tide lost 59-48 and the Tide lost 78-71 to the Pirates.