GAINESVILLE — The North Hall girls did what they could to grab a key top seeding in the upcoming Region 7-AAA tournament next week.
The Lady Trojans held off a fiesty Lumpkin County squad 41-38 Friday night at the North Hall gym.
The win put North Hall (13-11, 7-5 Region 7-AAA) in a position to grab the No. 2 seed but the Lady Trojans saw that fall apart when East Hall beat Fannin County 60-50 and Dawson County rout Union County 70-38. The results gave the Lady Vikings the No. 2 seed by virtue of their sweep of North Hall during the season. North Hall will be the No. 3 seed with Union County fourth.
The game was a back-and-forth affair defensive battle for most of the game. Lumpkin County rallied in the fourth quarter to grab a 37-36 lead with just over three minutes left. But North Hall, behind Maci Gillespie, who closed out final three minutes with a 5-1 run, with Gillespie hitting a 3-pointer and another basket.
Camilla Howell finished with 16 points but had just 5 points after the first quarter to lead North Hall.
Lumpkin County (9-14, 2-10) was led by Mackenzie Pulley with 15 points. Maddie Self had 11 but none after halftime for the Lady Indians.
NORTH HALL BOYS 67
LUMPKIN COUNTY 50
North Hall used a 20-3 run in the first half to erase a late first quarter lead and then pulled away in the second half for the win.
It was tight early with two ties and five lead changes in the opening period in the opening seven minutes. The Indians lead by as much as 14-8 following a 14-3 run.
The teams traded three 3-pointers in the final minute with a Noah Holman 3-pointer giving the Trojans (9-15, 4-8) an 18-17 lead just before the buzzer.
North Hall then opened the second quarter with a 13-2 run to lead 28-19. After Lumpkin County moved within 28-22, North Hall closed out the half with an 11-4 spurt for a 39-26 lead.
In the third quarter, Lumpkin County used an 11-1 run to get within 44-37 but the Trojans exploded for 16-3 run and a 60-40 advantage.
Turnovers were the key for the North Hall and the issue for the Indians. The Trojans trapping defense forced 34 turnovers that led to more than two dozen points.
Holman finished with 17 points to lead North Hall. Taylor Hanson added 14 points for the Trojans.
Matt Seabolt paced Lumpkin County with 12 points. Patrick Jackson added 11 points for the Indians.
