FLOWERY BRANCH — Lumpkin County completed a perfect run through Region 7-3A Tuesday night.
But upstart East Forsyth made them work for it in the region finals at the Cherokee Bluff Gym.
The Lady Indians needed a 17-1 second quarter run to shake off a slow start, and an East Forsyth lead, before eventually pulling away for a 66-51 win over the Lady Broncos.
The win gave Lumpkin County (25-1) the No. 1 seed from 7-3A in the upcoming Class 3A playoffs. It also gave them a perfect 16-0 record against 7-3A teams this season. They have gone 29-1 in region play and tournaments over the past two seasons.
Lumpkin County coach David Dowse, who was named the Region 7-3A Coach of the Year, said he wasn’t surprised they were pushed by the first-year Lady Broncos (19-8).
“They are a good team, well-coached, and they schemed us well,” Dowse said. “But we made some adjustments in the second quarter and were able to get some things going.”
The adjustment was 7-3A Player of the Year Mary Mullinax. The junior poured in 10 points during the decisive run and finished with 20 points to pace the Lady Indians.
“As a group we have been playing together for so long we know where each other is on the court,” Mullinax said. “If I was open, they found me. If someone else was open, that’s where the ball went. It really just kind of came to me.”
The Lady Broncos hung tough in the first half behind Alison Hiddema, who had 9 of their first 17 points into the second quarter. Hiddema’s basket to open the second was her seventh straight and gave them a 17-13 lead.
But that would be their biggest lead, and the last time they led. Mullinax got hot, including a long 3-pointer, to spark the big run as the Lady Indians ran out to a 30-18 lead with just over three minutes left in the half.
Hiddema knocked down her third 3-pointer of the half moments later to end a four-minute drought to pull within 30-21 but Lumpkin closed out the half leading 33-23.
A 12-6 run to open the third quarter pushed Lumpkin’s lead to 45-27. Hiddema did everything she could to keep the Lady Broncos close. She scored 7 points in the third quarter and scored 15 of their final 24 points. Hiddema finished with a game-high 29 points, including 5 3-pointers.
East Forsyth got within 47-38 late in the third quarter but an 8-0 Lumpkin run into the fourth quarter for a 55-38 lead squashed any upset plans.
Now, both teams will get ready for the upcoming state tournament. The Lady Indians are among the favorites to win the Class 3A title.
Mullinax said they look at it as a challenge to try and get back to the semifinals, or further.
“We have that experience from last year but I don’t think we look at it as pressure,” she said. “It’s really more of a challenge because we really want to get back to where we got and win it this time.”
Kate Jackson added 14 points, Averie Jones had 13 points, Ava Jones 9 points, and Lexi Pierce 7 points, all in the second half, for Lumpkin County.
Ella Holbrook had 10 points for East Forsyth.
WHITE COUNTY 46,
DAWSON COUNTY 35
The Lady Warriors (14-11) outscored Dawson County (17-11) 33-19 in the second half to rally for the win in the third-place game.
The Lady Tigers defense held White County to just 5 points in the first quarter and just 13 in the first half. However, they could take advantage managing to take just a 16-13 lead into halftime.
Chelsea Freeman finally got the Lady Warriors offense going pouring in 9 of her game-high 14 points in the third quarter. White County held Dawson to just 8 points in the period to take a 32-24 lead into the fourth.
Dawson County cut the lead to 41-35 late in the fourth but the Lady Warriors hit 5-of-7 free throws in the final minute to preserve the victory.
Ella Suita paced Dawson County with 11 points. Kirklyn Porter added 8 points for the Lady Tigers.
