TIGER — On the surface, the numbers are staggering.
- A 31-point average margin of victory
- A 22-game win streak, the longest of any current team in any classification in the northeast Georgia area
- Ten games won by 40 or more points, one by 59.
No, we’re not talking about the Buford, West Hall or Flowery Branch girls. Or the Gainesville or East Hall boys.
If you guessed those numbers described the Rabun County girls then you're either a Wildcat booster or a basketball junky -- because the Lady Wildcats have been flying under the radar.
And Lady Wildcats coach DeeDee Dillard is not complaining.
“It doesn’t bother us that we really haven’t gotten much attention,” said Dillard, who is in her 10th season at the helm. “We just try to quietly go about our business. Just taking things one at a time.
“But we know that if we continue to win, the recognition will come. It’s always nice to be recognized for what you’ve accomplished, for sure. But we’re not even worrying about that.”
The Lady Wildcats (24-3) have put together an impressive resume of wins, including an 81-41 drubbing of Bremen Tuesday night in the opening round of the Class AA tournament. But despite the lopsided victories and a win streak that stretches back to Dec. 4, Dillard admitted even she feels they are still an unknown quantity.
Only undefeated Model (26-0) has a longer current unbeaten run in Class AA than Rabun County.
While the Lady Wildcats cruised through the Region 8-AA schedule -- a region that may not be known for its competitive depth but also boasts Union County in the second round -- Rabun did knock off Class AAA Franklin County twice and Class AAAA Stephens County once. Their three losses came against Region 7-AAA powers East Hall (once) and Dawson County (twice) -- and that was at the very beginning of the campaign.
“Honestly, I’m not real sure how good we are, or can be,” Dillard said. “I feel we’ve gotten better as the season has gone along. We’re much deeper than in past seasons. I feel like we’re one of the better teams in AA but I guess we’re going to find out real fast.”
Rabun County will play host to Monticello (12-14) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in a doubleheader with the Rabun County boys, who will also be taking on Monticello (7 p.m.) in the second round of the playoffs. The Monticello girls stunned Fitzgerald 60-59 in the first round.
A win Saturday would put the Lady Wildcats into the state quarterfinals for the fourth time since 2009. However, they have not gotten beyond that barrier, having run into perennial powerhouse Buford three consecutive seasons ('09, '10, '11) in the Elite 8 round.
“We had good teams but Buford was just unbeatable,” Dillard said. “But it is something we’d like to accomplish, getting past the third round. No girls team has ever done it at Rabun County.”
Buford is no longer in Class AA but six-time state champion Wesleyan is, and the top-ranked Lady Wolves (25-5) are on their half of the bracket with a potential semifinal showdown looming if both get that far.
Experience, depth, and defense have been the keys for the Lady Wildcats this season. They are allowing just 38.9 points a game on defense behind a devastating full-court press. They can employ 10 or 11 players at all times to keep fresh legs and have more than a half-dozen players averaging between 6-9 points a game on offense, not counting leading scorers Savannah Scott (17 points per game, 4 rebounds per game, 4 steals per game) and Delaney Edwards (12 ppg, 9 rpg, 3 spg).
Scott, a junior, was named the Region 8-AA Player of the Year. Edwards is one of five seniors who “have been the backbone of the team.”
“The seniors have the experience you need to have a streak like this and in the playoffs,” Dillard said. “They know what we want to do and have really helped the younger girls pick things up quicker. We also have a couple of freshmen (Georgia Stockton and Brooke Henricks) that get significant playing time so we have a good balance of older and younger players.”
Dillard said she is as anxious as the rest of the "Wildcat Nation" to see what this team can do.
“We’re not looking past anyone. But I think the tournament really starts in the third round,” she said. “All the teams left are good so you can’t have a bad day. You have to be focused on that day.
“How far can this team go? I really don’t know. I’m interested to see how they respond now that they are starting to get some attention. But I think we have Final Four-caliber talent. We’re going to find out soon.”
