GAINESVILLE — Flowery Branch held Cherokee Bluff to just 10 first half points in taking a 55-43 win over the Lady Bears Thursday in the first round of the Lanierland Tournament.
Flowery Branch was joined in the semifinals by Chestatee, North Hall, and Gainesville, which all took opening round victories. The semifinals and finals will move to West Hall on Friday and Saturday.
Flowery Branch (9-3) next will face Chestatee on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the semifinal round at West Hall.
The Lady Bears (7-7) shot out of the gate to a 6-2 lead, but the Lady Falcons closed the opening half on a 26-4 run to put the game out of reach. Caroline Wysocki led the way for Flowery Branch, pouring in 15 of her 21 points in the first two quarters.
The Lady Falcons extended the lead 46-24 heading into the fourth quarter. The Lady Bears made it closer outscoring Flowery Branch 19-9 in the final period.
Ashley Woodroffe paced Flowery Branch with 23 points, 14 coming in the second half.
Timber Gaither led Cherokee Bluff with 14 points
GAINESVILLE 70,
EAST HALL 62
Senior Tija Blackwell poured in 30 points, including her 1,000th career point, to lead the Lady Red Elephants to a win over rival East Hall Thursday in the first round of the Lanierland Tournament.
Gainesville (7-4) now will play North Hall in the semifinals Friday at 3:30 p.m. at West Hall.
East Hall (6-9) led early taking a 13-12 lead into the second quarter. But Gainesville, behind Blackwell, who had 15 of her team’s 27 first half points, rallied to take a 27-24 lead into the intermission.
The two teams matched each other in the third quarter with 21 points apiece. The Lady Red Elephants blew the game open early in the fourth quarter with on a 14-0 run. Blackwell and Tia Shelton provided all 14 points in the explosion.
Shelton finished with 22 points for Gainesville.
“Those two are really good,” Gainesville coach Alan Griffin said of the pair. “Tia and Tija are talents and I’m blessed to coach them. Tija is a leader, she doesn’t care about the 1,000 points. She was the first one to make a pass tonight.”
East Hall, however, did not go quietly. The Lady Vikings cut the Gainesville lead to six with 1:05 left but could not get any closer.
Ivey Shadburn led the Lady Vikings with 16 points.
NORTH HALL 60,
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 59
Ansleigh Ferguson converted a fastbreak layup with 2 seconds left to give the North Hall girls a thrilling victory over Lakeview Academy Thursday in the first round of the Lanierland Tournament.
North Hall will take on Gainesville, a 70-62 winner over East Hall, at 3:30 p.m. Friday in the semifinals.
Ferguson’s basket capped a wild final four minutes that saw seven lead changes and one tie. There were three lead changes in the final 1:08 that began with a Grace Hollifield 3-pointer for a 56-54 North Hall lead. Lakeview’s Jackie Allen converted a pair of free throws with just 10.2 seconds left to cap a 5-2 run for a 59-58 lead. But Maci Gillespie took the ensuing inbounds pass and raced up court to find Ferguson in the lane for the game-winner.
“Just a great game and we showed a lot of fortitude on that final play and in the second half,” North Hall coach Kristi House said.
Lakeview (9-4) led from late in the first quarter and at one point held a 32-21 lead midway through the second period. The Lady Trojans (10-3) chipped away to close within 37-32 by halftime but the Lady Lions extended their lead to 40-32 on a Allen 3-pointer to open the third quarter.
North Hall began a slow march and got within 44-42 heading into the fourth quarter. The Lady Trojans grabbed their first lead since the first quarter on a trey by freshman Rylee McCall at 50-49 but Lakeview’s Sadie Thrailkill converted a steal and layup moments later to reclaim the lead at 51-50.
The Lady Trojans’ Ansley Smallwood drained a 3-pointer to recapture the lead at 53-51 but three free throws by Allen and Eliza Snyder got the lead back for Lakeview at 54-53 with just 1:21 left setting up the exciting finish.
“That’s the kind of game you can use for later in the season in knowing how to handle things in a pressure situation. Just really proud of the girls,” House said.
Ferguson led all scorers with 18 points to pace North Hall. Smallwood added 9 points and McCall and Kaylie Bell each had 8 points for the Lady Trojans.
Allen and Eliza Snyder both had 15 points apiece to lead Lakeview but combined for just 7 free throws and no field goals in the fourth quarter. Joelle Snyder and Savannah Kinsey had 9 points each and Thrailkill finished with 8 points but just 2 after halftime for the Lady Lions.
CHESTATEE 60,
WEST HALL 34
The Chestatee girls used three big first half runs to take control en route to a big win over West Hall Thursday in the opening game of the 59th Lanierland Tournament at the Chestatee gym.
Chestatee (8-7) next will take on the Cherokee Bluff-Flowery Branch winner in Friday’s 6:30 p.m. semifinal at West Hall.
After West Hall (4-8) took a 2-1 lead early in the first quarter the Lady War Eagles followed with a 10-0 burst and later exploded for a 10-2 run in the second quarter behind Nicole Sedwick, who poured in 13 first half points. Chestatee closed the first half with a 12-0 run for a 39-14 lead
Chestatee coach Sutton Shirley said it was a solid opening game for a group that had advanced in the tournament since 2014.
“To play that early is tough,” Shirley said. “We practice (Thursday) morning to kind of wake up and I thought we played well overall. I was real pleased that we didn’t let up in the second half. This was big for our seniors to get their first Lanierland win. I feel good for them.”
The Lady Spartans opened the third quarter with a 5-0 run to pull within 39-19 but Chestatee answered that with a 12-2 spurt for a 51-21 lead by the end of the third quarter.
West Hall, which was playing without an injured Aashaya White, chipped into the lead in the final period but could not get closer than the final score.
Maggie McNair poured in 19 points to lead Chestatee. Sedwick finished with 13 points for the Lady War Eagles.
Kinsey Wilson dropped in 11 second half points to finish with 15 to lead West Hall. India Johnson added 7 for the Lady Spartans.
Three-point shooting was a huge key for Chestatee, which knocked down 8 treys compared to just 1 for West Hall in the game.
Thursday’s results (at Chestatee High School)
Chestatee girls 60, West Hall 34
Lakeview Academy boys 60, West Hall 42
North Hall girls 60, Lakeview Academy 59
North Hall boys 55, Flowery Branch 46
Gainesville girls 70, East Hall 62
East Hall boys 62, Johnson 49
Flowery Branch girls 55, Cherokee Bluff 43
Gainesville boys 76, Cherokee Bluff 62
Friday’s schedule (at West Hall High School)
-- Consolation bracket
Lakeview Academy girls vs. East Hall, 9:30 a.m.
Johnson boys vs. Flowery Branch 11 a.m.
West Hall girls vs. Cherokee Bluff, 12:30 p.m.
West Hall boys vs. Cherokee Bluff, 2 p.m.
-- Semifinals
Gainesville girls vs. North Hall, 3:30 p.m.
East Hall boys vs. North Hall, 5 p.m.
Chestatee girls vs. Flowery Branch, 6:30 p.m.
Lakeview Academy boys vs. Gainesville, 8 p.m.
