'Persistent' Lady Knights get past North Hall

FLOWERY BRANCH - Persistence paid off for the Class AAA No. 5-ranked Johnson girls basketball team Wednesday night.

The Lady Knights, after a lackluster first half, used a 10-1 run and 8-0 run in the second half to pull away from a scrappy North Hall team in a 65-52 win in the opening round of the Region 7-AAA Tournament at the Flowery Branch gym.

"We had to be persistent because we weren't shooting the ball well at all in the first half," Johnson coach Benji Wood said. "We also were very loose with the ball and it cost us."

Leading just 37-36 after a 6-2 north hall run, Johnson, sparked by two straight 3-pointers, used the first run to take a 47-37
lead. but North Hall answered with a 12-6 run to pullwithin 53-49 with just over 4:00 left.

But Johnson's Whitney Randolph hit two straight layups and forced a steal that led to another Johnson layup to spark the second run and give the Lady Knights (20-6) a 61-49 lead.

Wood said his young team showed both its youth and potential in the second half.

"We helped them some but we also played with some energy when we needed it and kept after it and finally got some things going," Wood said.

Randolph led Johnson with 17 points. Sarah Lane added 13 and Erin Tyre 9 for the Lady Knights.

North Hall (10-12) was led by senior Megan Westmoreland, who scored 15 points in her final game. She finished as the school's all-time leading scorer.

Senior Caitlin Tilson scored 11 points in her final game for North Hall and junior Lindsey kitchens added 13 for the Lady Trojans.