Friday March 29th, 2024 1:15AM

Class AAAAA playoffs: Lady Falcons roll into 2nd round with rout of North Springs

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter

FLOWERY BRANCH — Courtney Newton-Gonzalez said her Flowery Branch girls needed a reset after a disappointing loss to Buford in the Region 8-AAAAA championship last week.

Friday night’s 58-32 win over North Springs in the first round of the Class AAAAA playoffs offered the opportunity.

The Lady Falcons (22-6) outscored the Lady Spartans (14-11) 23-2 in a 12-minute span from the end of the second quarter into the fourth quarter to blow the game open. The explosion was fueled by a defense that created 23 turnovers, 11 during the decisive run.

“Defense is our strength and I felt we played pretty well, especially after the slow start,” Newton-Gonzalez said. “We were sloppy the first couple of minutes but then we got some things going.”

The win was a welcome one for the third-ranked Lady Falcons, who were coming off a third loss to No. 1 Buford.

“We needed to refocus after that Buford loss,” Newton-Gonzalez said. “This should help us get our feet back under us and some confidence moving forward in the playoffs. It was good to see.”

The Lady Falcons started slow falling behind 5-4 after a 5-0 North Springs run. But the defense clamped down on the Lady Spartans over the final 4:47 of the first quarter.

Flowery Branch forced seven turnovers, including on four consecutive North Springs possessions, and Taniyah Worth exploded with two steals, two assists, and 11 points in a 14-0 run to grab a 22-8 lead after the first quarter.

North Springs climbed to within 29-17 late in the second quarter but Caroline Wysocki sparked a 9-0 run to close out the half for the Lady Falcons with a basket and two assists as they took a 38-17 lead into the intermission.

The third quarter was more of the same as Flowery Branch forced eight more North Springs turnovers and held the Lady Spartans to just one field goal while rolling out to a 50-19 lead. The fourth quarter was played with just a six-minute clock.

Worth finished with 19 points, 18 coming in the first half, to go with five assists and six steals. Queen Scott had 12 points, Sutton finished with 10 points, and Lexi Sengkhemmee had nine on three 3-pointers and added four assists.

Gerrah Perdue had 12 points to lead the Lady Spartans, who were making their first-ever state tournament appearance in school history.

Flowery Branch next will take on the Statesboro-Locust Grove winner in the second round on Wednesday. They would travel to Statesboro and play host to Locust Grove.

  • Associated Categories: Sports, High School Sports
  • Associated Tags: High school basketball, Flowery Branch girls basketball
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