GAINESVILLE — Lakeview Academy girls coach John Carrick made no bones about who the hero was in the Lady Lions’ 72-54 win over Darlington Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Class A Private playoffs.
“Our bench won this game,” he said. “They stepped up when we really needed them too.”
Normally paced by dynamic senior Hanna Grogan -- the school’s all-time leading scorer -- they were forced early on to find a way to make due without their star as they tried to advance to their first state semifinals since 2005.
Grogan picked up two quick fouls with Lakeview leading just 12-8 and her scoring just three points and sat out the final 11 minutes of the first half. Moments later, fellow senior starter Christen Copeland was called for her second foul and had to head to the bench.
“We were down almost three starters because of that and we needed to have some of the girls take bigger roles,” Carrick said. “They did a great job.”
Up stepped juniors Madie Blackburn and Tori Taylor, freshman Jackie Allen, and sophomore Sadie Thrailkill. What they didn’t know was that they already had a secret weapon on the floor.
Fellow senior starter Ryann Moody answered the call pouring in a season-high 18 points, including four 3-pointers, to pick up the offensive slack while Grogan and Copeland were on the bench. She opened the game with a 3-pointer as Lakeview (26-4) led from start-to-finish despite the early adversity.
“We know as a team we all have to contribute to win. With Hanna and (Christen) on the bench I just wanted to step up,” Moody said. “Whenever I have that first shot go in I feel I’m going to be on. I just tried to make some shots.”
As for the rest of the normally supporting cast, Blackburn finished with nine points on three 3-pointers, her final two coming in the waning moments of the third quarter to blow the game open as the Lady Lions took a 52-36 lead. Thrailkill added eight points and Allen held Darlington star Anna Claire Atha, a Wofford-signee averaging 26 points a game, to just 14 points through the first three quarters.
Atha finished with a game-high 28 with most of those coming late in the game after the Lady Lions had run out to the big lead. No other Darlington player reached double figures.
“Jackie did a great job (on Atha) and our defense overall did a great job of shutting down their other players,” Carrick said.
Now the Lady Lions will turn their attention to powerhouse Wesleyan in the semifinals looking for a spot in their first-ever title game. It’s their first trip to the Final Four since 2005. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday at the Cobb Civic Center.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Moody said. “This is what we’ve been trying to get too, especially the seniors. We’re super excited about it.”
“These girls deserve this,” Carrick said. “They worked hard. I don’t know much about Wesleyan but we’ll get started after we enjoy this one for a day.”
Grogan did finish with 17 points for Lakeview, 14 coming after halftime and on 8-of-10 free throws, most of those in the fourth quarter.
Lakeview came out hot getting 3-pointers by Moody and Grogan to open with a 6-0 run. Two Copeland baskets made it a fast 12-3 lead as Darlington committed five turnovers in the first three minutes.
But, Grogan picked up her second foul less than five minutes in and spent the rest of the half on the bench.
But Moody and the bench would pick up the slack for the Lady Lions even as they got in foul trouble overall with Darlington earning the bonus with over 10 minutes left in the half.
Kennedy Payne converted a pair of stick-back baskets and a Thrailkill free throw gave the Lady Lions a 20-12 lead early in the second quarter.
But Atha sparked a 7-0 run over a two-minute span to bring the Lady Tigers within 20-19 with 4:09 left in the half.
Moody answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back to 26-19. The Lady Tigers cut it to 26-23 but two free throws by Moody and a Allen 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Lakeview a 31-23 lead at halftime as part of an 11-4 run over the final 4:09.
A Moody 3-pointer gave Lakeview its biggest lead at the time, 38-27, early in the third quarter but Darlington (23-7) pulled back within 39-34 on a Atha basket before Blackburn’s two treys capped a 13-2 run to end the third quarter and any Lady Tigers comeback. After a stretch where they hit just 2-of-9 free throws, the Lady Lions helped seal the game going 8-of-10 from the line over the final three minutes.
