GAINESVILLE — It’s not often you see Chestatee girls coach Sutton Shirley in a relaxed mode.
But after the Lady War Eagles’ thrilling 45-41 win over Arabia Mountain in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs at the Lynn Cottrell Center on Tuesday, he almost got there.
The win marked the first time since 2013 that the Lady War Eagles (21-8) had advanced out of the first round.
“It feels good,” Shirley said, leaning back in his office chair and letting out a sigh of relief. “It’s been a minute since the program has won a playoff game. I’m just so proud of the girls right now.”
The win also came on a night when their best player, sophomore Riley Black, was struggling most of the game. Black hit her first basket to give Chestatee a 2-1 lead but then missed six straight shots with three turnovers as the Lady Rams (19-6) went on a 12-3 run to take a 13-5 lead early in the second quarter.
Shirley let her rest much of the rest of the first half.
“It’s been a long season with a lot of minutes and (Riley) has played most of them,” Shirley said. “We let her take a break and kind of rest and regroup.”
Enter senior Bowen Corley.
Corley scored 4 points and dished out 2 assists to spark a 12-2 Chestatee spurt in the second quarter to reclaim the lead 17-15.
“We’re a team and we have each other's backs,” Corley said. “It’s what we do.”
It was a defensive slugfest from the opening tip. No one scored until Arabia Mountain’s Sierra Burns hit a free throw nearly two minutes in. The first field goal wouldn’t come until the 5:46 mark on Black’s driving basket.
The Lady Rams then took control as Aaliyah Ismaaeel scored five straight points, including a 3-pointer, to spark their 12-3 run.
Chestatee was just 2-of-14 from the field, including 0-for-7 from 3-point range with seven turnovers. But a Sierra Yarbrough stick-back basket, a Caroline Bull 3-pointer, and a driving basket by Corley sparked Chestatee’s run with just 1:13 left in the half.
However, Burns hit a driving floater with 2 seconds remaining to tie the game just before the half.
The defenses were tough as Chestatee forced 12 Arabia Mountain miscues. The Lady Rams forced 11 Chestatee turnovers. The Lady War Eagles were just 2-of-9 on 3-pointers and Black, their leading scorer on the season, was held to just 3 points on 1-of-7 shooting in the first half.
Arabia Mountain came out hitting 5-of-6 shots to open the third quarter for a 28-23 lead on a Jayla Thomas trey.
But Riley and the rest of the Chestatee offense found their groove from there. Four different players, including Black, and capped by another Bull 3-pointer, scored in a 10-2 run to end the period with a 33-30 lead.
They extended the run to 19-4 and a 42-32 advantage on a Yarbrough shot with just 2:13 left. Black would hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 40 seconds to help seal it despite a pair of long 3-pointers from sophomore and Region 6-4A Player of the Year Malaya Jones in a 50-second span to get it to 42-38.
After the free throws, the Lady Rams’ Myori Pruitt hit a basket with 2 seconds left for the final points and the Lady War Eagles were swarmed by a mob of fellow students.
“I’ve never seen that many people at one of our games. It was great,” Corley said. “The crowd was great and really helped us.”
It was a welcome finish for Corley, who finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists to pace the Lady War Eagles.
“It feels good for sure,” she said. “We’ve never done it in basketball (since I’ve been here).”
Black scored 7 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter and also had 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Bull finished with 9 points, all on 3-pointers, and pulled down 6 rebounds for Chestatee.
Jones and Burns both finished with 12 points to lead Arabia Mountain.
Now, Class 4A sixth-ranked Chestatee moves on and will get the winner of the No. 2 Carver-Columbus-Perry showdown in the Sweet 16.
“We definitely did not play our best basketball (tonight) and we’ve battled through some adversity, “ Shirley said. “I’m assuming we’ll be going to Carver but I’ll take these kids anywhere against anyone. They’re not scared of anybody.”
