ATLANTA — It was expected to be a tall order for upstart Rabun County Saturday in the Class AA girls state championship game against perennial powerhouse Laney.
And it was.
A taller Laney team dominated the boards and beat a quick Lady Wildcats team at their own game on the defensive end in taking an 85-76 victory at McCamish Pavilion at Georgia Tech for its second title in three seasons.
Rabun County (29-3) was making its first-ever appearance an any title game at any classification. Laney, which won the 2015 Class AAA state title, was in its second title game in three years and had made the Final Four or better seven of the past eight seasons.
Laney (31-1) outrebounded Rabun County 53-33 for the game and turned 21 Lady Wildcats’ turnovers into 25 points. Behind 5-foot-11 junior center De’Sha Benjamin, Laney got 58 points in the paint.
Coach DeeDee Dillard said earlier in the week finding a way to slow down Benjamin and senior guard Aubriana Bonner would be the key.
And they were.
The pair each collected double doubles (Benjamin: 25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 blocks, 2 steals; Bonner: 16 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 steals) and helped keep Rabun County at bay in the final minutes.
“I thought the key stat was rebounding and we knew that was going to be a tough matchup for us,” Dillard said. “We also had some defensive breakdowns and you can’t do that against a team that good. They got that run in the second quarter and that was the difference.”
Rabun County started strong forcing two Laney turnovers on their first two possessions and got a pair of Tessa Matheson free throws for a 2-0 advantage. It would be their only lead of the game.
The speed of Laney took over from there. Three Laney steals as part of four straight Rabun County turnovers sparked a 12-2 run for a 12-4 advantage three minutes into the game.
The Lady Wildcats answered with their first big rally with a 10-5 spurt, capped by a Georgia Stockton driving basket, to trail just 17-14 late in the first quarter. Laney answered with five straight points for a 24-18 cushion after the opening period.
Bonner exploded for Laney in the opening moments of the second quarter. A driving layup and then steal and assist in a four-second span pushed the lead to 28-18 just a minute into the period. Rabun County went cold over the next five minutes, and combined with the atypical lapses on defense, the Lady Wildcats fell behind 46-30 by halftime after a 14-6 Laney spurt over the final four minutes.
Rabun County shot just 30 percent and was 0-for-8 on 3-pointers in the first half as well. If not for hitting 12-of-15 free throws in the first half, it would have been much worse. It looked like a rout was in progress.
However, Dillard said they just needed to go back to what they do best.
“When Laney got the run in the second quarter it was because we got less aggressive on defense. They broke us down. That was the only disappointing part of the game for me," she said. “I just told them (at halftime) to play their game. Be aggressive. Attack, attack, attack."
They took Dillard’s words to heart. They also changed strategies going away from their patented press to more of a half-court trap. The Lady Wildcats opened the third quarter with a 17-4 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Brooke Henricks (two) and Hallie Reeves and then a running floater by Savannah Scott to pull within 50-47 with 3:10 left in the third quarter.
“We switched defenses coming out because we had a couple of girls in foul trouble. But I also wanted them to kind of get their legs back under them," Dillard said. “Then we started making some shots. That always helps.”
A Benjamin old-fashioned three-point play pushed Laney’s lead back to 56-49 but Rabun County got within 60-56 on a Laken Stiles basket just seconds into the fourth quarter. Benjamin and Bonner reasserted themselves over the next two minutes to fuel an 8-2 run to run out to a 68-58 lead.
After Rabun trimmed it back to 68-63 on another Reeves 3-pointer, fastbreak baskets by Jaxmine Bartlett and Bonner capped an 8-1 run for 76-64 advantage with 2:36 left.
The Lady Wildcats pulled within 76-70 on a Reeves free throw and played the foul game over the final 1:38. Laney, which was just 19-of-34 from the foul line for the game, managed to hit 9-of-14 down the stretch and none of four 3-point attempts over the final minute by the Lady Wildcats found their mark as the clock wound down on Rabun’s first attempt at a state title.
Reeves paced Rabun County with 20 points, including five 3-pointers before fouling out in her final game. Henricks, a sophomore, poured in 17 before fouling out as well. Stockton, a sophomore, had 11 points and Stiles, a freshman, finished with 10 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 19 minutes off the bench.
Dillard said they hope the state will get to see more of them in the future.
“I am extremely proud of the girls. They didn’t quit even when things looked bad,” Dillard said. “We got the younger kids in the game and they got some great experience. They got a taste and hopefully it will make them hungry to get back here.
“I hope that we can get used to this and continue to build this into a program that can get here every year. The key will be if the girls continue to buy into what we’re doing. I’m hoping this is the start of big things for us.”
Scott, also a senior playing her final game, finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. She was the main focus of the Laney defense and was held to just 3-of-12 shooting and just one 3-pointer.
Jaiden Hamilton added 22 points and 13 rebounds for Laney. Bartlett had 11 points for Laney.
Both teams came in as defensive ball hawks. Rabun County was averaging 20 steals and Laney just under 16 per game. The Lady Wildcats swiped 13 and Laney 14.
Rabun County finished 6-of-17 for the game on 3-pointers hitting 6-of-9 in the second half.
NOTES: Laney finished the season with a 30-game win streak after Saturday's win in the finals...Rabun County had its 9-game win streak snapped with the loss...Both teams came into the championship game pummeling the opposition. Laney had beaten its four playoff opponents by 30 points a game. Rabun had beaten its four playoff victims by 24.5 ppg before Saturday's showdown.
