BUFORD — North Hall and Buford both used key first half runs to take control of their games and advance to the state tournament Wednesday in the Region 8-AAAA Tournament at the Buford gym.
North Hall got a big run to start the second quarter to break a tie with Chestatee in taking a 60-48 win over its arch-rivals in the quarterfinals to advance to the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.
Buford, the defending Class AAAA state champion, opened defense of its title with an 85-31 rout of White County in its quarterfinal matchup. The Lady Wolves opened their game with a 31-4 first quarter and rolled to the big win.
The 85 points also were a season-high for Buford, who had scored 80 in a win over Greenbrier early in the season.
The two teams will meet on Friday in the semifinals when the tournament moves to Stephens County.
NORTH HALL GIRLS 60,
CHESTATEE 48
No matter what happened one streak was going to come to an end as the arch-rivals battled for a playoff spot. Chestatee (12-14) had made five straight playoff appearances while North Hall (16-10) was looking for its fourth straight trip.
Neither team put on much of a shooting display in the first quarter but a 9-0 run to open the second quarter by the Lady Trojans gave them a cushion they would not give up.
The teams were tied at 10 to end the first quarter but four different North Hall players scored off three straight Chestatee turnovers in a 1:21 span for a 19-10 lead. The Lady War Eagles never got closer than four the rest of the way.
North Hall coach Kristi House said a few tweaks on defense helped them avenge a 61-50 loss to Chestatee during the regular season.
“Our defensive effort was much better this time,” House said. “We adjusted our matchups and I think that was big difference.”
North Hall used the quick second quarter surge to take a 24-17 lead into halftime. The Lady Trojans built their biggest lead at 33-20 midway through the third quarter on a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from Sadie Cleveland.
Chestatee chipped away getting a pair of 3-pointers late in the third quarter to cut the lead to 35-28. North Hall pushed the lead back to 11 twice early in the fourth quarter but a basket and two free throws by Lindsey Caudell sandwiched around a Kayla Watson 3-pointer for Chestatee cut it to 44-39 with 4:13 left.
Caudell would score the final 11 points for Chestatee, including a stick-back basket with 1:01 left, to trim it to 52-48. But North Hall hit 8-of-10 free throws in the final 49 seconds to seal the win.
“Our kids just believe in themselves and they didn’t get rattled when (Chestatee) made a run,” House said. “I was real proud of their effort.”
Next up for North Hall will be No. 1-ranked Buford Friday night in the semifinals at Stephens County. Buford beat the Lady Trojans 74-31 during their only regular season meeting.
“We’ll have to handle their pressure better than we did last time,” House said. “But we’re in the state tournament and that was our goal. We’re just trying to get better still.”
Caudell finished with a game-high 26 points to lead Chestatee, which did not have another player score more than six.
North Hall got balanced scoring with Cleveland and Niki Carver pouring in 14 points apiece. Camilla Howell and Hannah Spain each had 10 points for the Lady Trojans.
BUFORD GIRLS 85,
WHITE COUNTY 31
Pamela Johnson poured in nine points to go with three steals in the first quarter as the Lady Wolves led 31-4 after the opening eight minutes en route to win.
The Buford defense was dominating holding the Lady Warriors to just five first quarter shot attempts while swiping 10 steals.
The Lady Wolves (21-4) did most of their damage in the first and third quarters while employing their press. In the second quarter White County (6-18) found holes for some easy baskets but never got closer than 23 and trailed 54-22 at the half.
Buford held the Lady Warriors scoreless in the third quarter while running out to a 77-22 lead.
But Buford coach Gene Durden barely acknowledged the offensive output of his team, a season high.
“I know we (set a season high) but it’s not about points right now,” he said. “We have a lot of girls that can score. Our concern is on defense. We turned them over with our press but when we went to our half-court defense (White County) got a lot of easy baskets.
“To win a state title you have to do three things: play good half-court defense, play good half-court offense, and rebound. We still have a lot of work to do in all three areas.”
Buford was led Rachel Dobbs and Audrey Weiner with 15 points each. Dobbs got all her points on five 3-pointers. Marissa Bruce, Jessica Nelson, and Johnson all had 11 points for the Lady Wolves.
White County, which finished the year at 6-18, was paced by Abby Watson with 18 points. Jordan Taylor added nine for the Lady Warriors
