FORT VALLEY, Ga. — The Lumpkin County girls will get a chance to defend their Class 3A state title.
The Lady Indians overcame a slow start to eventually roll to a 78-31 rout of Calvary Day on Friday in the semifinals at Fort Valley State University.
Lumpkin County (26-4) moves on to play Hebron Christian in the finals on Friday at 1 p.m. at the Macon Coliseum.
"The girls should be rewarded (with a trip to the championship) for the hard work they put in," Lumpkin County coach David Dowse said. "The community has been behind us, and we hope to bring this community another title."
It was a rough start for both teams. Lumpkin County had five turnovers and missed their only shot over their first six possessions of the game. Fortunately for the Lady Indians, the Lady Cavaliers missed their first three shots with three turnovers.
Lexi Pierce finally broke the drought with a 3-pointer 2:35 into the game, and Mary Mullinax followed with another 3-pointer on their next possession for a 6-0 lead. Molly Smith hit a trey for Calvary Day to cut it to 6-3 moments later.
It was all Lumpkin County the rest of the way. Pierce scored five more points in the quarter as the Lady Indians led 14-5.
Smith hit a jumper to pull Calvary Day within 16-7 early in the second quarter. The Lady Indians then exploded for a 14-0 run, with Mullinax, Pierce, and Kate Jackson all hitting 3-pointers. Smith hit her second of the game 3-pointer to end that run before Lumpkin closed out the half with a 16-1 run for a dominating 46-11 lead at the half.
It did not get any better for the Lady Cavaliers in the second half. Lumpkin County led by as many as 53 points on three separate occasions. Calvary Day had their best run to end the game, closing it out with a 14-8 spurt.
Averie Jones scored 21 points to lead the Lady Indians, while Pierce and Mullinax both poured in 18 points. Jackson finished with 12 points for the Lady Indians.
North Georgia SportsLink contributed to this story.
