Region 8-AAAA: Buford, North Hall, Chestatee girls advance; Stephens falls

GAINESVILLE -- The first one is always the hardest. And for a young Chestatee girls squad, Wednesday's Region 8-AAAA quarterfinal against White County certainly was everything they expected.<br /> <br /> But sophomore Dawndria Bell rose to the occasion hitting a big 3-pointer to give them the lead for good in the third quarter and then drained a pair of free throws with 22.4 seconds left to seal an ugly but satisfying 20-19 victory at the North Hall gym.<br /> <br /> The win pushed Chestatee (15-11) into the Class AAAA state playoffs for the seventh time in eight years. It was a gut-wrenching loss for the Lady Warriors (16-10) who were trying to get to the state playoffs for just the second time in 14 years.<br /> <br /> "Nobody really expected us to win seven or eight games so for this team to get this far and into the playoffs is very satisfying," Chestatee coach Web Daniel said. "This is the hardest game because everything is on the line no matter where you are seeded. A lot of the girls had the jitters. It was the first big game like this for them. But they found a way to win."<br /> <br /> Bell was one of the nine freshmen or sophomores Daniel was hoping would step up. The Lady War Eagles have just four seniors on the roster.<br /> <br /> "She did a really nice job at the end. That three was big and she did a real good job on defense," Daniel said. "This could be the kind of win to help them grow up some."<br /> <br /> For White County coach Tyler Whitlock, it was a tough way to end the season. The Lady Warriors finished with more turnovers (21) than points (19) for the game.<br /> <br /> "Turnovers have plagued us all year and they got us again," Whitlock said. "Chestatee is a great defensive team and they took us out of what we wanted to do. We have to play good defense to win and we did a good job overall. We just couldn't get any offense."<br /> <br /> Both teams looked like they had the jitters for most of the game.<br /> <br /> The first half was anything but a thing of beauty for either team. Chestatee missed its first 10 shots while White County had seven turnovers in its first nine possessions. Yet somehow the Lady Warriors would take a 2-0 lead into the second quarter on a basket by Eliza Harris.<br /> <br /> Despite nine turnovers at the time, White County actually pushed its lead to 4-0 on a basket by Abbey Craven early in the second quarter. Chestatee finally got on the board with 6:27 left in the half on a basket by Tyler Bennett to cut it to 4-2 but the Lady Warriors' Paige Thomas drained a 3-pointer for a 7-2 lead with 5:31 left.<br /> <br /> The Lady War Eagles took over from there. Chestatee forced five more White County turnovers and used a 6-0 run, highlighted by a rare four-point play from Kayla Watson, to close out the first half for an 8-7 lead.<br /> <br /> White County finished the first half with nearly twice as many turnovers (13) as points (7) while Chestatee finished the first half 3-of-16 from the field, including just 1-of-6 on 3-pointers. The Lady Warriors after hitting their first two shots, went just 1-for-8 the rest of the half.<br /> <br /> Things picked up only slightly in the second half. Bell hit her 3-pointer to break an 8-8 tie and Chestatee would take a slim 13-12 lead into the fourth quarter.<br /> <br /> The teams would virtually trade baskets in the fourth with the Lady War Eagles leading 18-15 on a Bennett basket with 2:32 remaining. Thomas pulled White County within 18-17 on a basket with 1:30 left.<br /> <br /> The Lady Warriors had a chance to retake the lead with 34.7 seconds left but Abby Watson missed two free throws. Bell sank her pair moments later for a 20-17 lead and Thomas would hit a basket at the buzzer for the final score.<br /> <br /> "I'm just happy for the girls that they came out with a win," Daniel said. "Now that this one is out of the way maybe they can relax a little and play like they are capable. We're glad to be getting ready for the next one."<br /> <br /> Bell and Watson finished with seven points each to lead Chestatee.<br /> <br /> Thomas paced White County with a game-high 10 points.<br /> <br /> Chestatee next will take on North Hall in the semifinals at Johnson on Friday night.<br /> <br /> <br /> <b>NORTH HALL GIRLS 79,<br /> NORTH OCONEE 46</b><br /> <br /> North Hall used a pair of big runs in the first half to break open a close game early and then cruised to the quarterfinal win at home.<br /> <br /> North Hall coach Kristi House was not sure what to expect after a foul-laden matchup last month but she liked what she saw from her young group.<br /> <br /> "I thought it was one of our best games of the season," House said. "We talked about playing defense and controlling what we can do. The offense just kind of came to us. I'm real pleased with how we played overall."<br /> <br /> The Lady Trojans had five players score in double-figures, led by senior Kensi Gillespie with 19 points. Fellow senior Katie Sayres added 18 points, freshman Tatum McQuillian came off the bench to pour in 13 points, and Sadie Cleveland and Taylor Anne Kelley had 10 points apiece for North Hall.<br /> <br /> The game was tied 6-6 late in the first quarter before the Lady Trojans closed out the period with a 7-0 run. They opened the second quarter with a 7-1 run and then closed out the half with an 18-4 spurt for a 42-19 halftime lead.<br /> <br /> Gillespie got the final first half run going with a 3-pointers and Kelley hit a 3-pointer and then converted a three-point play on back-to-back possessions. Sayres drained a long 3-pointer late in the half for a 42-18 lead.<br /> <br /> North Hall (16-10) hit five 3-pointers and sank 19-of-25 free throws in the first half. The 29 second quarter points matched a season-high for a quarter, also against North Oconee in the two teams' first meeting.<br /> <br /> The Lady Trojans invoked a running clock in the fourth quarter using a 22-14 third quarter to pull away for a commanding 64-33 lead. North Hall led by as many as 34 in the fourth quarter.<br /> <br /> <br /> <b>BUFORD GIRLS 85,<br /> MONROE AREA 27</b><br /> <br /> Buford used a 25-2 second quarter to blow open a close en route to the victory and a spot in the state playoffs -- Marissa Bruce played a key role in that burst, scoring all of her 15 points in the first half.<br /> <br /> "Marissa brought a lot of energy to the game tonight, and I thought she was very valuable to us," Lady Wolves coach Gene Durden said. <br /> <br /> Buford (23-3) led just 15-11 after the first quarter. But they exploded behind Camille Anderson to pull away for a 40-13 halftime lead.<br /> <br /> Buford added to the lead in the third quarter with a 27-7 run to invoke a running clock in the fourth quarter.<br /> <br /> Anderson also finished with 15 points for Buford. Chandler Hall and Zikaya Wright also had 12 points each for the Lady Wolves.<br /> <br /> Buford next will take on Madison County, a 47-43 winner over Stephens County, in the 8-AAAA semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Johnson High in Oakwood.<br /> <br /> "We need to make sure we are a good transition team both on offense and defense as we move forward," Durden said. "In tournaments you also have to execute on the half court. So we're going to keep working."<br /> <br /> <br /> <b>MADISON COUNTY GIRLS 47,<br /> STEPHENS COUNTY 43</b><br /> <br /> May Moss scored 19 points to lead the Lady Red Raiders to a narrow victory over the Lady Indians in on Tuesday Buford.<br /> <br /> Stephens County actually held a 37-34 lead after the third quarter but scored just six points over the final eight minutes.<br /> <br /> May Cleveland scored 11 points to pace the Lady Indians, while Adjai Howard added 10 points.<br /> <br /> Stephens County season is now complete. Madison County advances to face top-seeded Buford at 7 p.m. Friday in the 8-AAAA semifinals at Johnson High in Oakwood.