BLUE RIDGE - Gainesville girls coach Manson Hill needed someone to step up.
On cue, senior Kita Waller answered the call scoring nine of her team-high 11 points in the second half to help the Lady Elephants survive a monster scare from Chestatee 43-34 Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Region 7-AAA Tournament.
"She's done that time and again and we really needed her leadership in the second half," Hill said. "That's why she's a great player."
The Class AAA fifth-ranked Lady Elephants (22-4) moved into the state tournament for the 10th consecutive year with the win.
The turning point came midway through the third quarter with the score surprisingly tied at 18-18. Hill called a timeout and told his team they needed to relax.
They did coming out of the timeout scoring five straight points to take a lead they would never relinquish. Chestatee cut it to 25-21 late in the quarter but Gainesville would use a 12-2 run over the next seven minutes to put the game away.
Lady War Eagles coach Web Daniel said he couldn't have asked more from his group.
"They gave it there all out there but we made some mistakes in the fourth quarter and they took advantage of them. That's what great teams do," he said.
Catrina Randolph came up big in the fourth quarter scoring all eight of her points to give Waller some help. Lauren Darnell also had eight points for Gainesville.
Kasey Smith had 12 points - 10 in the second half - to lead Chestatee, which finished the season at 7-18. Julianne Worley, who came in averaging over 12 points a game over the last two weeks, managed just seven as Gainesville clogged the middle.
Gainesville opened the game with a 7-2 run but Chestatee cut the lead to 10-7 early in the second quarter. Gainesville eventually led 18-11 at halftime but Chestatee opened the second half with a 7-0 run to tie the game and get the Fannin County gym buzzing.
But the Lady War Eagles could get no closer.
(By Jeff Hart)
Sunday
May 19th, 2024
4:34AM
