WOODSTOCK, Ga.— While a basketball game is four quarters, the Gainesville girls did their most important work in the final 6:30 minutes.
The player of the game: Drea Mattox.
Mattox was the spark Gainesville needed in the 63-61 comeback win against Woodstock in the second round of the Class 6A tournament.
The win sends the Lady Red Elephants to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015. They'll play at No. 3 seed Lovejoy on Tuesday.
"She stepped in and was big for us," Gainesville coach Vanessa White said about Mattox. "We told her to be as physical as she could because she had fouls to give. So, she stepped in and answered when we needed her."
Indeed she did.
Trailing 48-39 with 6:36 to go, the sophomore post player sparked a 10-0 run to push Big Red to the lead, 49-48. She scored eight of the 10 points, including six on stick backs and two from the foul line.
It was much-needed fuel for a Gainesville team that struggled all night to convert shots inside the paint. Mattox scored all of her 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Added on top of the poor shooting night, Gainesville played without point guard KeKe Jones for the final 5:30 minutes and lost Keidra Young with 3:23 to go in the game.
"Our team loves KeKe and Keidra and wanted to win this game for them," White said. "Keidra and Keke may have fouled out, but they didn't quit. They were coaching from the sidelines. I think our team channeled their energy."
Regardless of who was in the game, Gainesville still had to fend off the Lady Wildcats, who sprinted back to a 51-49 lead on two foul shots from Lily Conkell with 4:52 left.
Julie Payne, who led Gainesville with 16 points, punched back with her own 5-0 run, bombing a massive 3-pointer in front of the Gainesville bench and converting a Woodstock turnover into a bucket for a 54-51 lead.
"She stepped up and hit that big three," White said. "She was fearless tonight. It was really good to see her step up in those crucial moments in the game."
Payne also swished two free throws with 2:28 left, giving the Lady Red Elephants a 58-56 advantage.
But Woodstock continued to fight back. Conkell hit a basket, and Nina Carson and Karson Martin netted two free throws each to close the gap, 60-58, with less than two minutes to go.
Gainesville got a bucket and a foul shot from Zaria Williams for a 61-59 lead, but Woodstock answered the call once again, with Martin hitting two more foul shots to tie the game, 61-61, with 38.6 seconds to go.
That's when it got even more interesting.
After a timeout, Gainesville had the ball with 36 seconds on the game clock and 35 seconds on the shot clock. Big Red needed to run the game clock down to the last second. Williams attacked with 7 seconds remaining and was fouled going to the basket, giving her two foul shots for the lead.
Williams hit the first, then clanged the second off the back of the rim. Mattox swooped in and ripped the ball out of the air to force Woodstock to foul. Mattox hit one of two foul shots with 3.2 seconds to go and a 63-61 lead. Woodstock's halfcourt heave wasn't close.
Young finished with 13 points, and Williams had 12.
Gainesville will face defending Class 6A champion Lovejoy on Tuesday in Hampton, Ga. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be heard live on AM 1240 & 94.5 FM The Lake.
"There are no weak links anymore," White said. "The top eight teams in the state of Georgia are left. We've got to come and bring the hard work, attitude, effort and energy. We also have to execute based on strengths and weaknesses. We've got to be prepared going into the game."
