MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — It will be an all-Georgia mountains final and a showdown between the top two teams for the Class A Division 1 girls state title.
Top-seed Fannin County beat fifth-seeded East Laurens, 72-63, to move into next Saturday’s finals. No. 2 seed Banks County followed later in the afternoon at Georgia State College and University with an improbable 51-44 win over Model in overtime after trailing by five with under 40 seconds left in regulation.
The Lady Leopards (25-5) scored the final 12 points in regulation and overtime to pull out the victory.
Banks County and Fannin County will battle for the Class A Division title next Saturday (March 8) at 11 a.m. at the Macon Centreplex.
It is the second state title game for the Lady Leopards in three seasons. It’s the first championship game for the Lady Rebels since 2021.
The key sequence Saturday came from Reese Murphy, who converted a basket to get Banks County within 44-42, and then she swiped the ensuing inbounds pass for another basket to tie the game with 23 seconds left.
The teams had a chance to win it in regulation, but neither could get off a shot. Banks outscored Model 7-0 in the extra frame.
It was a tough defensive slugfest the entire way. Model led 8-7 after the first quarter despite having seven turnovers in the period. But the Lady Blue Devils blocked five Banks County shots on their defensive end.
Banks County did not take its first lead until a Reese Murphy 3-pointer gave the Lady Leopards a 22-19 advantage with 1:43 left in the first half. A Ryleigh Murphy free throw gave them a 25-24 lead at the break.
But Model stepped up its defensive pressure in the third quarter, holding Banks County to just 6 points, five coming on a Ryleigh Murphy 3-pointer and a Ryleigh Murphy basket on consecutive possessions. The Lady Blue Devils took a 34-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
However, Model could not hold on as the Banks County pressure defense eventually wore them down.
