RABBITTOWN — It was supposed to be a rematch between Region 8-AAAAA foes Gainesville and Flowery Branch for a second straight Lanierland girls title.
East Hall had other plans.
Carly Winters drained a long 3-pointer with 4 seconds left to give the Lady Vikings a thrilling 44-41 victory over arch-rival Gainesville Tuesday night in the semifinals of the 56th annual Lanierland Tournament.
Winters’s shot capped a frenetic final minute that saw two lead changes and one tie and a pair of defensive gems from both teams.
“It was a great game between both teams,” East Hall coach Justin Wheeler said. “I think this means a lot to the girls because they haven’t been there as a group. I just feel happy for them for this opportunity.”
Gainesville took a 41-39 lead with 1:00 left on a Shikiya Brown 3-pointer after the Lady Red Elephants stripped East Hall’s Jenny Edwards as she was going in for what would have been an easy layup and a three-point lead.
Edwards tied the game at 41 seconds later finishing a beautiful fastbreak off passes from Kylah Mize and Winters after East Hall forced a Gainesville turnover.
The Lady Vikings then forced another Gainesville turnover in the final 10 seconds and Mize found Winters alone in the corner for the wide open shot. Winters had missed her previous four 3-point attempts leading up to the game-winner.
“We just told (Carly) to keep shooting and we told the girls to keep getting her the ball if she was open,” Wheeler said. “That was a big shot.”
It’s the first finals appearance for East Hall since losing to Chestatee in 2012. The Lady Vikings last won the title in 2011.
They’ll take on a Flowery Branch team at 6 p.m. Wednesday for the title that hasn’t won a Lanierland crown since 2003 but is undefeated at 13-0 and ranked No. 3 in Class AAAAA. The Lady Falcons trounced North Hall 66-34 in the first semifinal.
Neither team led by more than four in the second half as they punched and counter-punched the entire time. East Hall led 31-27 midway through the third quarter on a Mize basket but Gainesville answered with a 7-2 run to close out the period for a 34-33 lead.
The Lady Red Elephants eventually led 36-33 on a Kayla Kelly basket to open the fourth quarter but East Hall’s Ashlyn Ellison scored three straight points to cap a 6-2 run to retake the lead at 39-38 for the Lady Vikings with just 1:49 left.
That set up the thrilling final minute.
“Our girls showed their toughness in how they kept battling back. I can’t say enough about them,” Wheeler said.
The game was back-and-forth from the beginning with the lead changing hands four times in the first quarter. In the second quarter the Lady Vikings appeared to seize control.
East Hall opened the period with an 11-2 run for a 20-11 lead with just over three minutes left in the half. But the Lady Red Elephants stormed back.
Brown drained a long 3-pointer to cap a 6-0 spurt in the final minute and a 10-3 run for Gainesville overall to pull within 23-21 by halftime.
Ellison finished with 13 points to lead East Hall. Winters had 12, Mize had 11, and Edwards finished with eight for the Lady Vikings.
Taylor Hawks paced Gainesville (7-3) with 14 points. Brown added 12 and Kelly finished with eight for the Lady Red Elephants, who saw their six-game win streak come to an end.
Gainesville will play North Hall at 3 p.m. at East Hall in the third place game.
FLOWERY BRANCH 66
NORTH HALL 34
The Flowery Branch girls haven’t talked about it and have tried hard not to even think last year’s gut-wrenching loss to Gainesville in the Lanierland finals.
After Tuesday’s dominating win over North Hall in the semifinals, the Lady Falcons can finally start to strike up a conversation about how to finish what they couldn’t last year.
“We haven’t talked about it but I know it is something that has been in the back of their minds a little,” first-year Flowery Branch coach Courtney Newton said. “We’re just trying to take things one game at a time. Now I think we can start to embrace the concept of trying to win the tournament.”
Sophomore Taniyah Worth and junior Julianne Sutton were nearly unstoppable for Flowery Branch inside pouring in a combined 34 points to go with eight rebounds, five steals, and five assists.
The only blemish for the Lady Falcons (13-0) was another slow start. They fell behind early to West Hall in the first round and North Hall came out strong to open Tuesday’s game.
The Lady Trojans jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead with four different players scoring, including a 3-pointer by Chloe Barrett. They also benefitted from a cold start shooting by Flowery Branch, who missed its first six 3-point shots
“I would like to see us come out and start a little faster but sometimes the nerves of a tournament like this can get to you early,” Newton said.
But Worth, Sutton, and the Flowery Branch defense took over from there late in the first quarter. The pair of post players dominated the smaller Lady Trojans blocking three shots and igniting a half-dozen fastbreak attacks in the first half. The Lady Falcons also forced five straight North Hall turnovers as they finished the first quarter with a 13-0 run to take a 15-9 lead. They got their first lead at 11-9 when Heather Moore broke their 3-point drought in the final minute of the period.
It was the Worth show in the second quarter. Worth poured in eight of her 12 first half points in the quarter, including a pair of end-to-end fastbreak baskets following a steal and a block. Flowery Branch closed out the first half with a 17-2 run, capped fittingly by a Sutton block of a North Hall shot in the final seconds.
“We try to take advantage of the matchups we have. We like to push the ball but we also will try to get the ball inside as much as we can. (Julianne and Taniyah) did a great job for us,” Newton said. “Taniyah is so athletic. We’re trying to get her to play a little more defense. When she does it makes things happen for us.”
Flowery Branch essentially put the game away with an 8-2 run to open the third quarter for a 40-15 lead. The Lady Falcons led 49-24 after the third quarter and led by as many as 37, 63-26, on a Alyssa Green 3-pointer late in the game.
Worth finished with 18 points and three each of rebounds, steals, and assists to lead the Lady Falcons. Sutton had 16 points to go with five rebounds and two assists. Kierra Knight added eight points and Heather Moore seven points for Flowery Branch.
Taylor Anne Kelly had nine points to pace North Hall (6-4). Laken Sears and Camilla Howell each had six points for the Lady Trojans.
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 77
WEST HALL 54
The Lakeview Academy girls rebounded from a tough loss to North Hall Tuesday in the consolation bracket of the Lanierland Tournament at the East Hall gym.
Hannah Grogan had another huge game for the Lady Lions (7-5) pouring in 34 points one night after tallying 28 against the Lady Trojans.
Lakeview Academy controlled the game throughout taking a 29-20 lead into halftime. They blew it open in the second half outscoring the Lady Spartans (5-6) 48-34.
Macy Passmore had 23 points to lead West Hall. Anna McKendree added 13 points for the Lady Spartans.
Lakeview Academy next will play Chestatee on Wednesday at noon at East Hall in the fifth place game.
West Hall will play Johnson at 10:30 a.m. at East Hall in the seventh place game.
CHESTATEE 42
JOHNSON 26
The Lady War Eagles used a 13-3 second quarter to take control en route to the win in the consolation bracket.
Chestatee (6-7) led 13-9 after the first quarter but used its second quarter spurt to run out to a 26-12 halftime lead. Johnson (1-9) chipped away in the third quarter pulling within 30-17 after outscoring Chestatee 5-4 in the period.
Johnson held the Lady War Eagles to just two second half field goals but Chestatee hit 12-of-21 free throws in the second half to hold on for the win.
Lindsey Caudell paced Chestatee with 17 points. Brooklyn Popham added 11 and Dawndria had seven for the Lady War Eagles.
Katie Wiece and Caroline Odum each had 11 points to lead Johnson.
Chestatee next will play Lakeview Academy on Wednesday at noon at East Hall in the fifth place game.
Johnson will play West Hall at 10:30 a.m. at East Hall in the seventh place game.
2015 LANIERLAND TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Dec. 29 at East Hall High, Second Round
Semifinals
Flowery Branch girls 66, North Hall 34
East Hall boys 76, North Hall 73 2OT
East Hall girls 44, Gainesville 41
Flowery Branch boys 59, West Hall 48
Consolation bracket
Lakeview Academy girls 77, West Hall 54
Chestatee girls 42, Johnson 26
Johnson boys 72, Chestatee 58
Wednesday, Dec. 30 at East Hall High, Third Round
FINALS
East Hall girls vs. Flowery Branch, 6 p.m.
East Hall boys vs. Flowery Branch, 7:30 p.m.
Consolation bracket
West Hall girls vs. Johnson, 10:30 a.m. -- 7th place game
Lakeview Academy girls vs. Chestatee, noon -- 5th place game
Lakeview Academy boys vs. Johnson, 1:30 p.m. -- 5th place game
Gainesville girls vs. North Hall, 3 p.m. -- 3rd place game
North Hall boys vs. West Hall, 4:30 p.m. -- 3rd place game
