CARROLLTON -- The Buford girls basketball team showed it is more than just the Camille Anderson show on Saturday -- at a time when it needed to most.
Anderson went down with an injury just four minutes into the Lady Wolves Class AAAA semifinal matchup with Fayette County, leaving Buford without its offensive standout and heart and soul.
Chandler Hall, Zikaya Wright, Lane Crawford, and the rest of the Lady Wolves picked up the slack and helped them fend off the Lady Tigers for a 51-39 victory at the University of West Georgia gym.
The effort was not lost on Buford coach Gene Durden, who is guiding his Lady Wolves into the state finals for the sixth time in his 10 years at the helm.
"It never gets old because each team is different," Durden said. "This is a special team because we graduated so many from last year. We've had so many different girls step up. It's been fun to watch."
Buford led just 7-5 at the time when Anderson was landed on by a Fayette County player after a hard foul on a layup attempt.
Hall, Wright, Crawford, Katy Bisges, and Corey Staples turned up the defensive pressure to finish the first quarter holding the Lady Tigers to no points on 0-for-6 shooting and forcing five turnovers in the final 4:02 of the first quarter.
"This team has faced so much adversity this year with injuries," Durden said. "When Camille went down I just told them they'll have to finish without her. They did an amazing job as a group."
While her teammates were holding down the fort, Anderson managed to hobble to a stationary bike and then was able to do some light running in the tunnel. Whether intentional dramatic timing, she jogged out of the tunnel and to the scorer's table to start the second quarter.
"I looked and she said she was back," Durden said. "I think that says a lot about the kind of heart and determination she has."
After Fayette County's Latia Styles hit a 3-pointer to open the second quarter, Anderson showed she was fine knocking down a long 3-pointer of her own, which sparked an 11-3 run for a 20-11 lead. The Lady Tigers got back in the game with a 7-0 run, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Whitney Williams to pull within 20-18. Wright would give Buford a 22-18 halftime lead with a stickback basket in the final minute.
The third quarter saw the Lady Tigers use a 7-3 run to tie the game at 25 with 4:01 left in the period but Wright and Marissa Bruce sandwiched a pair of baskets around a 3-pointer from Fayette County's Christa Jones for a 29-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Crawford would open the fourth quarter with a big 3-pointer for Buford but Fayette County answered with 7-3 run to tie the game at 35 with 5:21 left. The Lady Tigers would get just one field goal the rest of the way.
That's when Anderson took over. Anderson poured in 10 of her game-high 17 points -- all coming AFTER she was injured -- in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer for a 40-35 cushion with 3:09 left and then four consecutive free throws in the final 33 seconds to seal the game.
Crawford would add another basket in the quarter and Bisges converted a three-point play for a 44-35 lead, the Lady Wolves' biggest of the game at that point.
"Lane hit a big shot to get us going there and then everybody just kind of got involved," Durden said. "It truly was a team effort."
The Lady Wolves (29-3) now will take on Carrollton, which knocked off Veterans 43-42 in the other semifinals, in Thursday's 7 p.m. showdown in Macon for the state title.
"It didn't matter to us who we play," Durden said. "Both were good teams to get this far."
Buford was ice cold from the field in the first half but was able to build and maintain a lead with one of its best defensive halves of the season. The Lady Wolves were just 3-of-11 on 3-pointers and just 8-for-27 from the field in the first 16 minutes. They also were just 3-for-8 from the free throw line.
The Lady Wolves' press was dominating forcing 19 turnovers in the first half, including inducing three 10-second violations. They held Fayette County to 3-of-10 on 3-pointers and just 5-of-23 from the field.
The Lady Tigers took the first lead on a basket by Styles but Buford answered with baskets by Wright and Hall. Fayette County drained three free throws for a 5-4 lead before Buford used a 5-0 run, powered by its defense, for a 9-5 lead. Neither team would score the final 2:07 of the first quarter.
Bisges finished with 11 points for Buford. Wright added eight, Hall six, and Crawford five for the Lady Wolves.
Williams paced Fayette County (20-11) with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Kaya Smith added nine for the Lady Tigers.
STATE BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
CLASS AAAA
Buford girls 51, Fayette County 39
CLASS AAA
Beach girls 47, East Hall 38
Wednesday
January 29th, 2025
12:56AM
