COLUMBUS — Flowery Branch had Brunswick right where it wanted it Thursday in the Class AAAAA quarterfinals at Columbus State University.
The Lady Falcons took a 38-31 lead into the fourth quarter on the strength of senior Maddie Hetzel coming alive offensively and the defense holding the Lady Pirates to just seven points in the third quarter.
But instead, Brunswick turned the tables on the Lady Falcons holding them to just nine points while exploding for 21 points in the fourth quarter to rally for a 52-47 victory and end Flowery Branch’s quest for a first-ever trip to the Final Four.
First-year coach Courtney Newton, who was on the only other Flowery Branch team to advance to the quarterfinals in 2004, said it was just a matter of the little things at the end.
“Too many turnovers and we missed some layups and a bunch of free throws. It’s a game of inches and all of those were big,” Newton said. “They made there’s and we didn’t. That was the difference.”
It was a physical game that saw both teams battle foul trouble most of the way. At the end, Brunswick was able to use a 9-1 run, forcing four turnovers, to grab a 50-44 lead, sparked by going 7-of-10 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Lady Falcons were just 7-of-15 from the line for the game.
“We just had a bad three or four minutes in the fourth quarter and you can’t do that at this stage and expect to win,” Newton said. “We’re disappointed but this team accomplished a lot and did some things no other Flowery Branch had done. I’m proud of them.”
It was one of those matchups that belonged on the state championship stage. But instead, the two region champions, which had been ranked in the top four all season, were battling for a first-ever spot in the Final Four. Flowery Branch won Region 8-AAAAA while Brunswick took the Region 3-AAAAA crown.
And it lived up to its billing the entire way. The Lady Falcons came in as the stingiest defensive team in AAAAA allowing just 34.9 points a game. The Lady Pirates were right behind them allowing just 36 points a contest.
“It was two good teams battling it out,” Newton said. “You can’t worry about when you’re playing someone.”
A frenetic pace to start, fueled by the defenses, helped the Lady Falcons run out to a 15-8 lead late in the first quarter, capped by a 3-pointer from Lexi Sengkhammee off a beautiful pass from Taniyah Worth. Flowery Branch forced three straight Brunswick turnovers during the spurt.
Flowery Branch continued to use its defense to eventually take 19-10 and 20-12 leads with 4:33 left in the first half. The Lady Pirates defense responded in kind.
Brunswick forced almost half-a-dozen Lady Falcons turnovers to help spark a 14-2 run to claim a 24-22 lead with 46 seconds left. Flowery Branch tied the game at 24 on a floating basket by freshman Caroline Wysocki at the buzzer.
Flowery Branch finished with 14 first half turnovers while the Lady Pirates had 13 turnovers in the first 16 minutes.
Wysocki’s buzzer-beater to end the half helped carry momentum into the third quarter as the Lady Falcons came out strong again with Hetzel scoring five straight points to open the second half to reclaim the lead. A pair of Julianne Sutton baskets and then a Hetzel jumper with 4 seconds left gave Flowery Branch what looked at the time to be a 38-31 lead that seemed much larger than that.
But Brunswick started quick again in the fourth quarter forcing one Flowery Branch turnover sandwiched around a pair of baskets by Jomalya Garner and Khamiya Blackshear in the first minute and then Blackshear added two free throws moments later to give the Lady Pirates a 39-38 lead.
Kierra Knight ended an 0-for-6 drought to start the period to reclaim the lead for the Lady Falcons at 41-39 with a 3-pointer and Taniyah Worth, on a beautiful driving layup, gave them their final lead at 43-41 with 3:47 left. But they couldn’t hold it.
The Lady Falcons were held to just one Hetzel field goal the rest of the way while Brunswick sealed the game at the line.
Worth, a sophomore, finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists to lead Flowery Branch. Sophomore Sengkhammee finished with six points, three rebounds, and three assists, and junior Julianne Sutton added five points to go with seven rebounds.
Despite the heartbreaking finish, Newton was optimistic about the the Lady Falcons moving forward.
“This one hurts but we’re still a young team,” she said. “The seniors will be missed and they did a great job of showing the younger kids how to do things. I’m excited about the offseason.”
Palmer finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, and four steals to lead Brunswick. Garner added 12 points, nine in the fourth quarter, to go with four rebounds and three steals for the Lady Pirates.
Brunswick (30-2) next will take on another 8-AAAAA team in No. 4 seed Winder-Barrow at 3 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals at Columbus State for a spot in the state championship game next week in Macon.
