OAKWOOD — For more than a decade after initially joining the Lanierland Tournament, the Lakeview Academy girls, despite a Class A Private Final Four state playoff appearance at one point in the mid-2000s, never won a game.
Saturday night, seniors Eliza Snyder and Jackie Allen led the Lions to their first-ever finals appearance with a thrilling 52-47 come-from-behind victory over four-time defending champion Flowery Branch at the Johnson gym.
Allen provided the game-changer with a stick-back basket with 1:39 left to give Lakeview its first lead (48-47) since 3-0 while Snyder knocked down four free throws in the final 48 seconds to preserve the win. Snyder scored 12 of Lakeview’s final 19 points and finished with 22 points, 17 coming in the second half to help erase a five-point Flowery Branch halftime lead.
But it was the defense that Lakeview coach John Carrick was raving about afterward. Lakeview closed out the game on a 9-0 run forcing four Branch turnovers and holding the Falcons to 0-for-7 shooting over the final 4:18 of the game.
“I loved how we played defense (tonight),” Carrick said. “The big girl (Flowery Branch center Ashlee Locke) is so hard to defend and I thought we did about as good of a job as you could do. We really didn’t think we could play man-to-man with her so we used a zone until the third quarter. Just a great effort.”
Locke finished with a team-high 12 points for the Falcons (9-5) but the Lions held Flowery Branch to just 15 second-half points and just five in the fourth quarter, a season-low in a quarter for the Falcons.
The Lions (10-4) opened the game with an Eliza Snyder 3-pointer for that initial 3-0 lead but Flowery Branch got consecutive treys from Bella Brick, Morgan Aguilar, and Alana Veiga to run out to a 9-3 advantage. The Falcons maintained the lead until Allen’s offensive rebound putback.
In between, Flowery Branch led 12-8 after the opening period and pushed the lead to 32-25 on a 7-3 run to close out the half.
The Lions caught the Falcons at 36 in the third quarter on a pair Eliza Snyder free throws but could not capitalize on three straight possessions to take the lead. Flowery Branch took advantage of getting 3-pointers from Brick and Emilee Scott for a 42-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Scott gave the Falcons what looked like an insurmountable lead at 45-36 with just under six minutes left. But they would manage just one Locke basket the rest of the way.
Carrick said the real secret was his charges playing as an unselfish group.
“They play like a team. The three stars don’t mind passing the ball and the others don’t mind not getting the most shots,” he said. “That’s what makes this a special group.”
Joelle Snyder, who had a big 3-pointer in the fourth-quarter comeback, poured in 10 points to go with 5 assists for Lakeview. Maddy Towles added 9 for the Lions and pulled down 11 rebounds. Allen finished with 6 points, 5 assists, and 5 steals.
After Locke’s 12, Brick finished with 11 points and Aguilar had 9 for the Falcons.
Lakeview now will look for its first-ever championship when it takes on North Hall in Monday’s 6 p.m. final at Cherokee Bluff.
“We’re excited about being there and we’ll try to see if we can find a way against a really good North Hall team,” Carrick said.
NORTH HALL 58,
CHEROKEE BLUFF 32
A 26-2 second-half run will be considered the deciding factor in the Trojans’ rout of the Bears in the semifinals.
But the foundation of the blowout win was undoubtedly the Trojans’ defense, which forced 29 turnovers, including four straight to open the game as they ran out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back.
“That’s what we want to do every game and I thought we got out a great start,” North Hall coach Kristi House said.
The Bears (3-11) did answer with a 9-0 run, capped by an Alexis Mize basket, to get within 10-9 late in the first quarter. But a 15-4 North Hall spurt into the second quarter led to an eventual 25-18 halftime lead for the Trojans.
Cherokee Bluff opened the second half strong closing to within 30-25 midway through the third quarter on a Taylor Click basket. That’s as close as the Bears would get in their first-ever Lanierland semifinal in just their second season as a program.
North Hall seniors Grace Hollifield and Maci Gillespie helped snuff out any Bears rally. The pair combined for 20 points in the decisive run as the Trojans opened up a 56-27 lead with just over two minutes left.
“This is a special tournament and the seniors right now are driving the bus,” House said. “They wanted to get back to the finals and have a shot at winning it in their final season. I’m just real pleased with how we played overall.”
Hollifield finished with 28 points, including six 3-pointers, to lead North Hall (10-4). Gillespie added 11 points and fellow senior Lauren Swanson chipped in with 7 points for the Trojans.
Sophomore Timber Gaither paced Cherokee Bluff with 16 points. Click finished with 10 points for the Bears.
North Hall will take on Lakeview Academy in Monday’s 6 p.m. final at Cherokee Bluff.
Cherokee Bluff will take on Flowery Branch in the 3 p.m. third-place game.
CHESTATEE 49,
WEST HALL 27
The War Eagles opened the game with a 16-4 run in the first quarter and never looked back in taking a win in the consolation bracket.
West Hall (3-12) pulled within 25-15 by halftime but Chestatee (7-7) extended its lead to 39-24 heading into the fourth quarter. The War Eagles sealed the game holding the Spartans to just three points over the final eight minutes.
Maggie McNair had another big game for the War Eagles knocking down 11 of her game-high 19 points in the first quarter to set the pace. Emma Eastwood added 10 points for Chestatee.
Adridia Lipscomb had 7 points to lead West Hall. Blanca Mallak added 6 points for the Spartans.
Chestatee next will play Gainesville at 12:30 p.m. Monday in the fifth-place.
West Hall will play East Hall at 9 a.m. Monday in the seventh-place game.
GAINESVILLE 63,
EAST HALL 54
Gainesville outscored East Hall 16-5 in the third quarter to erase a halftime deficit in taking a win in the consolation bracket.
Gainesville (4-8) led 18-15 after the first quarter but East Hall (4-8) used a 19-8 run in the second quarter to grab a 34-26 lead at the intermission. But the red Elephants turned up the defense in the second half.
After the big third-quarter outburst, the Red Elephants led 42-39 and put the game out of reach scoring 21 points in the final period.
Lauren Teasley led seven Gainesville scorers with 18 points. Sadie Roach added 15 and Zaria Williams 14 for the Lady Red Elephants.
Alexis Burce paced East Hall with 15 points. Maleah Harrison added 11 and Audrey Griffin 10 for the Vikings.
Gainesville next will play Chestatee at 12:30 p.m. Monday in the fifth-place.
East Hall will play West Hall at 9 a.m. Monday in the seventh-place game.
