HOMER, Ga. — With a chance to take early control in Region 8-2A, the Banks County girls did not waste their opportunity.
Behind a quick, tenacious defense the Class 2A fourth-ranked Lady Leopards rolled to a 56-28 win over Athens Academy on Friday night at the Banks County gym in a battle of unbeaten teams.
Banks County (17-3, 3-0) forced as many Athens Academy turnovers (28) as points, including 13 steals. The Lady Leopards never trailed and the game was tied just once, at 2, in the opening minutes.
“We’re really locked in on defense right now,” Banks County coach Steve Shedd said. “We’re not doing anything fancy. The girls are just playing with a lot of effort and are just getting after it. I’m very pleased with how we’re playing right now.”
Both defenses were tough to crack early on. The Lady Leopards were 0-for-4 from 3-point range while the Lady Spartans were just 2-for-9 overall in the opening quarter.
After just a 9-4 first quarter for Banks County, Kamryn Grier was able to get some traction down low with 10 of the Lady Leopards’ first 14 points into the second quarter while eventually building a 16-8 lead. Banks County also kept up the defensive pressure using a 14-3 run to pull away for a 25-13 halftime lead.
The Lady Spartans’ offense struggled mightily against the quick Banks County defense having more turnovers (16) than points in the opening 16 minutes.
In the third quarter, both offenses adjusted as each nearly doubled their first half output. After missing their first six 3-pointers, the Lady Leopards went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, including back-to-back treys for Ryleigh Murphy, as they pushed the lead to as much as 48-24 late in the period on runs of 14-4 and 9-4.
The Lady Spartans (13-2, 1-1) never got closer in the fourth quarter as the Banks County defense did not let up.
At nearly the halfway point of the region schedule, Banks County is establishing itself as the team to beat. The Lady Leopards own a 27-point win over East Jackson, a 26-point win over Union County, and then Friday’s blowout win at home, which pushed their win streak to 10.
Their last loss came over a month ago against rival Rabun County (52-37) and since then Shedd said the girls have embraced a new motto.
“Show Up. Every practice, every game,” Shedd said. “After that loss to Rabun we explained they have to show up ready to play every time they hit the court. The girls have really taken that to heart.
“We’re staying humble, though. Everybody is going to make adjustments the second time (through the schedule). We have to be ready and show up every game.”
Grier finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals to pace Banks County. Addison Hoard added 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists with Murphy and Carley Segars each chipping in 8 points. Madison Adams also dished out 6 assists for the Lady Leopards.
Banks County is off until traveling to East Jackson next Friday.
BANKS COUNTY BOYS 77,
ATHENS ACADEMY 69
Sophomore Kolby Watson poured in 11 of his game-high 27 points in the final 3:30 to help the Leopards (12-6, 2-1) erase a five-point deficit for a huge Region 8-2A win at home.
“That kid was here well into the night (Thursday) and has just been working hard,” Banks County coach Ryan Griffin said. “This was just a huge, huge win for us.”
Banks County was coming off a lackluster loss to Union County on Tuesday and have not won back-to-back games in over a month.
“We needed this,” Griffin said. “We haven’t been shooting the ball that well lately and for us to come back from 6 or 7 down like that, hopefully that will give us the confidence we need down the road.”
It was the first road loss of the season for the Spartans (10-6, 0-3), who had opened the fourth quarter with a 12-4 spurt to run out to a 61-56 lead. But Watson rattled in a long 3-pointer to pull within 61-59 and drained another two minutes later to reclaim the lead, 64-63, with 1:33 left.
After a KJ Whitehead basket gave the Spartans back the lead, Watson scored on a fastbreak layup and then converted a three-point play for a 69-65 advantage. Athens Academy would not get closer than two the rest of the way as Banks County went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 21 seconds.
Banks County led 17-12 after the first quarter but Athens Academy used a 21-12 run over the final five minutes to close within 34-33 by halftime. The Spartans grabbed a 36-34 lead coming out of the half on a 3-pointer by Kymel Williams but the Leopards answered with an 11-0 run, highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Aaron Scott. But a 15-4 run by the Spartans gave them a 61-56 lead with 3:45 left.
Scott and Luke Dale both had 17 points for Banks County. Mason Adams and Hunter Youngblood each had 8 points for the Leopards. Adams also had 10 rebounds and 5 assists and Scott pulled down 8 rebounds to go with 5 assists as well.
Banks County hit 18-of-22 free throws while Athens Academy was just 6-of-13 from the line for the game.
Williams had 21 points and Isaac Rorey 20 for the Spartans. Ben Shar added 11 points and Whitehead finished with 8 for Athens Academy.
