FLOWERY BRANCH — Flowery Branch girls coach Courtney Newton returned to her alma mater for just these kinds of moments.
Newton, a former standout at Flowery Branch, watched Saturday night as her current squad pulled away in the second half for a 64-44 win over East Hall and the program’s third-consecutive Lanierland Tournament title.
(NOTE: The Gainsville boys won their second straight title with a 96-73 victory over East Hall. Click here for a story on the Red Elephants title-winning game.)
Flowery Branch had won just one Lanierland title (2003) before Newton’s return. The latest title marks the first three-peat by any girls program since West Hall took four straight Lanierland crowns from 1997-2000.
“Thee straight means a lot to us,” Newton said afterwards. “Especially for the seniors to be able to be a part of that. We want to have a team that can contend for it every year."
While Alabama-signee Taniyah Worth poured in 20 points to nab her second straight Tournament MVP honors, it was the Lady Falcons defense that set the tone.
They pressured the East Hall outside shooters, especially Georgia State-signee Carly Winters, the entire 32 minutes. The Lady Vikings did drop in 10-of-25 3-pointers for the game, but managed just five field goals inside the arc. East Hall was just 3-of-14 in the first half as the Lady Falcons were able to take control.
Ashley Scott and Ashley Woodroffe took turns on defense trying to limit Winters, who finished with 16 points but was just 6-of-17 shooting, including just 4-of-12 from beyond the arc.
“I thought we did a much better job of defending them in the second half,” Newton said. “Ashley Scott really played well for us.”
East Hall coach Justin Wheeler, who has lost twice to the Lady Falcons in the past three Lanierland finals, said mistakes were more of an issue for him than the offense. The Lady Vikings finished with 17 turnovers for the game to just 6 for Flowery Branch.
“Turnovers were an issue for sure,” Wheeler said. “I thought we shot the ball okay but we just couldn’t get a run going. Flowery Branch is a very good team and you can’t make that many mistakes and beat them.”
It was a back-and-forth affair in the opening minutes as the game was tied once at 5 with the teams exchanging the lead four times. A stickback basket by Ashante Peoples gave East Hall a 10-9 lead but Flowery Branch answered with an 8-2 run to close out the first quarter, capped by a Worth fastbreak basket for a 17-12 lead.
The Lady Vikings pulled within 17-15 on a Winters 3-pointer but the Lady Falcons responded with an 11-1 run for a 28-16 lead with just over four minutes left in the half.
Flowery Branch went scoreless over the final 4:51 of the half missing its last eight shots while the Lady Vikings inched to within 28-20 by halftime.
But Flowery Branch began the third quarter with a 5-0 run on a pair of East Hall turnovers for a 33-20 lead and the Lady Vikings never got closer than 10. A 12-2 Lady Falcons run early in the fourth quarter gave them a 50-31 lead to seal their third title.
"This is just a great environment for teams to learn how to handle big crowds and high-intensity games," Newton said. "I'm just so proud of how our girls handled it."
Caroline Wysocki finished with 13 points for Flowery Branch and Scott and Woodroffe both chipped in 12 points for the Lady Falcons.
Winters did not get the kind of offensive help she got in the semifinals as Jenny Lopez and Macy Thomas had just 9 points apiece.
NORTH HALL GIRLS 63,
WEST HALL 56
In the girls third-place game, the Lady Trojans led from virtually start-to-finish. They jumped out to a 16-13 lead after the first quarter and then opened leads as big as eight points three times in the second quarter before taking a 34-29 lead into halftime.
West Hall trimmed the lead to 44-43 midway through the third quarter but North Hall answered closing out the period with an 8-2 spurt for a 52-45 lead. The Lady Trojans maintained a two possession lead the rest of the way.
Camilla Howell led North Hall with 22 points.
Kylie Passmore paced West Hall with 15 points.
CONSOLATION ROUND
In the girls fifth-place game, Chestatee knocked off Lakeview Academy 56-38 behind 23 points from Lindsey Caudell. In the girls seventh-place game, Gainesville routed Johnson 81-38 getting 25 points from Tija Blackwell and 21 from Tia Shelton. Johnson's Chelsea Reece continued her torrid scoring with 21 points, including six 3-pointers.
2017 LANIERLAND
Finals and consolation round resuts from Saturday
Gainesville girls 81, Johnson 38 (7th place game)
Johnson boys 72, Chestatee 54 (7th place game)
Chestatee girls 56, Lakeview Academy 38 (5th place game)
West Hall boys 56, North Hall 53 (5th place game)
North Hall girls, West Hall 56 (3rd place game)
Flowery Branch boys 58, Lakeview Academy 49 (3rd place game)
Flowery Branch girls 64, East Hall 44 (Championship game)
Gainesville boys 96, East Hall 73 (Championship game)
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Sally Bell MVP: Taniyah Worth -- Flowery Branch
Curt Lance Sportsmanship Award: Jenny Lopez -- East Hall
Camilla Howell -- North Hall
Anna McKendree -- West Hall
Sadie Thrailkill -- Lakeview Academy
Tija Blackwell -- Gainesville
Chelsea Reece -- Johnson
Lindsey Caudell -- Chestatee
Carly Winters -- East Hall
Lexie Sengkhemmee -- Flowery Branch
