FLOWERY BRANCH — Flowery Branch girls basketball coach Courtney Newton-Gonzalez felt her team was a little too amped up coming into Friday's first round Class AAAAA playoff match-up with Rome.
"We knew they were a great team and that we had to be at our best. We just had to get the nerves out, and once we settled down we started executing," Newton-Gonzalez said.
Did they ever.
After trailing 7-4 in the opening exhanges, the Lady Falcons exploded on a 19-2 run to end the first quarter and then answered every Rome push the rest of the way en route to a 78-63 win.
The win moves the second-seeded Branch into the Sweet 16, where it will face No. 1 seed Lithia Springs next week on the road.
After building a 26-11 advantage to end the first period, the Branch led by double digits for much of the remainder. And while the visitors pulled as close as 47-38 with 4:20 left in the third quarter, the Lady Falcons regained a 59-43 lead to end the period and then stormed out of sight over the final eight minutes. And they did so as team, as five Branch players finished with at least 13 points -- Lexie Sengkhammee's 17 leading the way.
"Her ability to take care of the ball is the No. 1 thing she does for us, especially in games like this, but she also hits big shots and is never afraid to take one," Newton-Gonzalez said of Sengkhammee, who drilled 5 of 6 3-point shot attempts. "Credit her teammates for finding her in open spots too, and credit our team for finding Ashley Scott too, because she hit some big shots too."
Scott nailed four 3-pointers of her own, including back-to-back treys in the third quarter to help stem Rome's 10-2 run that had pulled the Lady Wolves within 9. In fact, Scott's final 3-pointer was part of a four-point play, as she was fouled during the shot and buried the ensuing free throw.
Scott finished with 16 points, while Caroline Wysocki added 14 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, Taniyah Worth 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals, and Ashley Woodroffe 12.
The Branch hit 11 3-pointers as a team and forced 22 turnovers in a game that featured some ferentic passages, especially in the early going.
The Lady Falcons also turned the ball over 21 times, including five in the first quarter when Rome's full-court press created some takeways and easy transition baskets, but once Wysocki completed a three-point play and followed it up with a short jumper for a 9-11 advantage it was almost all Flowery Branch until halftime, when the Lady Falcons led 45-28.
Taya Gibson scored a game-high 28 points for Rome, while Petavia Floyd added 21.
EAST HALL GIRLS 63,
HART COUNTY 52
The Lady Vikings notched their first state playoff win since reaching the 2015 Class AAA semifinals on Friday, storming ahead before halftime and fending off the Lady Bulldogs in Valhalla.
Ivey Shadburn came off the bench to lead East Hall with 24 points. Carly Winters also scored 16 and Maggie Griffin had 10 for the second-seeded Lady Vikings.
East Hall drained 12 3-pointers on the night.
Torrion Starks led all scorers for Hart County with 28.
The Lady Vikings travel to face top-seeded Lovett in the Sweet 16 next week.
BANKS COUNTY GIRLS 52,
PEPPERELL 30
The Lady Leopards stormed into the Class AA Sweet 16 via the win on Friday in Homer.
Allison Smith scored 25 points to pace Banks County, while Maddie Thomas and Amber Williams scored 10 points apiece.
The Lady Leopards will play host to the winner of the KIPP vs. Heard County match-up next week in the second round.
RABUN COUNTY GIRLS 73,
ROCKMART 46
The Lady Wildcats played like anything but a No. 3 seed in the opening round on Tuesday night, storming into the Class AA Sweet 16 with an impressive road win.
Georgia Stockton scored 35 points to pace Rabun County, while Kaitlin Coleman had 13.
The Lady Wildcats led 42-16 at the half.
Rabun County travels to Lamar County next week in the second round of the playoffs.
GALLOWAY GIRLS 67,
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 47
The Lady Lions saw their season come to an end on Friday in the first round of the Class A Private playoffs in Gainesville.
Tori Taylor scored 12 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, while Savannah Kinsey scored 13 points and grabbed 3 rebounds to help lead Lakeview. Sadie Thrailkil also had 7 points and 13 rebounds.
NORTH FORSYTH GIRLS 51,
MOUNTAIN VIEW 25
The Lady Raiders led just 25-24 at the start of the fourth quarter before exploding for the win on Friday in the first round of the Class AAAAAAA playoffs in Coal Mountain.
North Forsyth outscored Mountain View 26-1 over the final eight minutes.
The Lady Raiders will play host to Grayson in the Sweet 16 next week.
FRANKLIN COUNTY GIRLS 56,
DAWSON COUNTY 35
Franklin County opened the game with a 21-7 blitz and then held Dawson County to just 13 second half points en route to a first round win in Class AAA action.
The Lady Tigers pulled within 32-22 by halftime outscoring the Lady Lions 15-11 in the second quarter. But undefeated Franklin County (28-0) cranked up the defense in the second half.
Calli Watson led Dawson County in scoring with 9 points. Kaylee Sticker, who recently cracked the 1,000-point mark, had 7 points in her final game for Dawson County.
