GAINESVILLE - The game plan for the Gainesville girls basketball team against West Hall Saturday night in the semifinals of the Region 7-AAA Tournament was to keep Paige Hanson away from the basket and Tarah Teague inside the 3-point line.
And despite the two combining for 30 points, Gainesville coach Manson Hill was more than pleased with his team's execution in a 55-35 win at the Gainesville gym.
"They are going to get their points but I thought our defense was outstanding. Much better than (Thursday) against Chestatee," Hill said. "Lauren Darnell did a great job on Paige and we didn't give Tarah any good shots in the second half."
Hanson finished with 18 points, but 11 came in the third quarter when Darnell was on the bench. Teague had 12 - all on 3-pointers - but had just one basket in the second half.
Meanwhile, West Hall had no answers for Gainesville's Kita Waller, who had 18 points, and Erin Tyre, who had 14, including three rainbow 3-pointers.
Gainesville (23-4) now moves into its 10th straight region finals against defending champ and rival Johnson (24-3) Monday at 7 p.m. at the Gainesville gym. Johnson beat North Hall 66-57 in the other semifinal.
Gainesville, which was playing without suspended starting point guard Shadondria Hunter for a second straight game, opened strong using an 11-3 run to close out the first quarter for a 20-8 lead. But West Hall (13-11) held Gainesville to just four points in the second quarter to trail just 24-15 at halftime.
Both teams got going offensively in the third quarter with Gainesville taking a 40-28 lead into the fourth quarter. Darnell, Waller, and Tyre and the rest of the Lady Elephants clamped down on the Lady Spartans in a 12-3 run in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
"We're a different team than the beginning of the year but I think we've done a good job of adjusting," Hill said. "We still have Kita, Lauren, Erin and a good group of girls and I think we're going to be just fine."
Sunday
May 19th, 2024
5:58AM
