COAL MOUNTAIN — The North Forsyth girls basketball team advanced to its first-ever semifinal after holding off Hillgrove 68-63 Tuesday night in the Class 7A quarterfinals.
The Lady Raiders (27-2) next will move on to play No. 1-ranked Westlake (28-1) in the semifinals at 6 p.m. at The Buford Arena.
North Forsyth battled throughout taking a 16-10 lead after the first quarter and then extending it to 31-21 by halftime. Hillgrove used a 7-2 run to close out the third quarter to pull within 46-40.
The Lady Raiders lead dwindled to 64-61 with 45 seconds left after a Hillgrove 3-pointers but they hit several key free throws in the final moments to preserve the victory.
It was the 20th straight victory for the Lady Raiders.
FITZGERALD GIRLS 70,
RABUN COUNTY 65
The Lady Wildcats fell behind early to the Lady Purple Hurricanes and could never quite run them down in a quarterfinal loss in the Class 2A playoffs.
It was a rematch of a quarterfinal meeting in 2017 in Tiger. The Lady Wildcats won that one on the way to their first-ever state championship game berth.
Fitzgerald led 14-8 after the first quarter and then slowly pulled away for a 36-25 lead at halftime as the Lady Hurricanes answered every Rabun County surge with on of their own.
The Lady Hurricanes continued to press their advantage through the third quarter pushing their lead to 45-32 and into the fourth quarter extending the lead to 56-41, the largest of the game.
But the Lady Wildcats found their energy in the fourth quarter.
Destiny Deetz converted a basket in the paint to pull Rabun County within nine points and Brooke Henricks drained a long 3-pointer and moments later converted a pair of free throws with 2:53 left to cap 15-2 run to pull the Lady Wildcats within 58-56.
But Georgia Stockton could not convert on two chances to tie the game and Fitzgerald answered with a fastbreak basket off a turnover to push the lead back to 60-56 with 2:00 left.
Rabun County never got closer than three the rest of the way as the Lady Hurricanes held on for the victory.
HENRY COUNTY GIRLS 58,
JEFFERSON 50
Both teams came in riding 10-game win streaks in a battle of region champions at The Arena.
The Lady Dragons led 28-27 at halftime but were not able to hold on in the second half against the Lady Warhawks.
The score was tied at 12 after the first period and Jefferson used a second quarter surge to grab the lead by halftime. But Henry County outscored Jefferson 22-13 in the third quarter to grab a 49-41 lead.
Lady Dragons opened the fourth quarter with a 4-0 run over the first four minutes but went scoreless over the next three minutes as the Lady Warhawks extended their lead to 53-45 with 45 seconds left.
Jazmin Allen got the lead down to six points with 21 seconds left on a 3-pointer but Jefferson could get no closer.
LANEY 54,
BANKS COUNTY 38
Banks County could not get past the No. 1-ranked and defending state champion Lady Wildcats.
The Lady Leopards were looking for their first-ever state semifinal berth.
Laney opened the game with a 16-7 first quarter and never looked back. The Lady Leopards could not muster the kind of offensive firepower they had displayed in the first two rounds. They were held to single-digit scoring in each of the firt three quarters.
The Lady Wildcats, who have now won 60-consecutive games, extended their lead to 27-16 by halftime. They took a 39-25 lead into the fourth quarter.
