TIGER — Savannah Scott found it hard not to smile.
How could the Rabun County senior not after helping her Lady Wildcats hold off Fitzgerald Tuesday night in a 70-54 win in the quarterfinals of the Class AA playoffs.
“Just a surreal feeling,” Scott said about thanking just about every fan in the stands afterwards. “It’s just an amazing feeling for us and the community.”
The win pushed Rabun County (28-2) into the semifinals for the first time in program history. It was the fifth time since 2009 the Lady Wildcats had advanced to the Elite 8 only to be denied each of the first four times.
They will take on Bleckley County, a 54-45 winner over Hapeville Charter, in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Saturday at Georgia College in Milledgeville.
The only negative for Scott and the rest of the seniors is knowing it was the last time they will get to play at Ken Byrd Court.
“That was a little sad. But we’re excited about getting into the Final Four for the first time,” Scott said.
For Rabun County coach DeeDee Dillard, the final seconds brought out a wealth of emotions.
“I was just overwhelmed in general with the whole thing,” Dillard said as she wiped away tears of joy. “These girls worked hard and I’m just so happy for them to get this opportunity.”
While the outcome turned into a thing of beauty, it was anything but for much of the contest. The two teams came in as defensive stalwarts combining for 36 steals a game.
The first half was not graceful as the two defenses stymied the offenses despite a 31-27 halftime lead for the Lady Wildcats.
The Rabun County press did its job forcing 18 Fitzgerald turnovers in the first 16 minutes. But, the Lady Wildcats struggled from the field and were not able to take advantage on the offensive end. They were just 6-of-19 in the first quarter despite a 15-13 lead. They managed to open up a 20-13 lead early in the second quarter on a basket by Scott.
But the Lady Hurricanes, behind Hayleigh Ross, forced a 27-27 tie late in the half before Rabun County got baskets from Kassaundra Johnson and Scott in the final 30 seconds to grab the lead at intermission.
Ross came in averaging just 7.0 points a game but poured in 11 in the first half alone for Fitzgerald.
But the Lady Wildcats stormed out of the halftime with an 11-2 run, capped by a Scott 3-pointer, for a 42-29 lead with 5:42 left. Fitzgerald never got closer than nine the rest of the way and Rabun County took a 50-38 lead into the fourth quarter after a Tessa Matheson basket.
Rabun County put the game away with an 11-5 run to open the final period to push the lead a 61-43.
While the Rabun County offense certainly wasn’t up to its usual efficiency shooting the ball, the defense more than made up for it forcing 34 turnovers for the game.
“Defense is what we do well and that’s where we try and make things happen,” Dillard said. “I thought we did a great job of taking away some of their scorers.”
Kirstin Crook came in averaging 17 points a game to lead the Lady Hurricanes. She had eight at the half and was held scoreless in the final 16 minutes. Ross was held to just two points in the second half to finish with 13 and T’Kayshza King had 12 for Fitzgerald.
Scott found a spark in the second half with 12 points to finish with a team-high 19 to lead Rabun County. Matheson poured in 17 points, Georgia Stockton added 10, and Brooke Henricks had nine for the Lady Wildcats.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/3/506558/class-aa-playoffs-rabun-girls-finally-make-history