Fannin girls hold off West Hall upset bid

FLOWERY BRANCH - Stephanie Searce hit two free throws with 0.7 seconds left to lift the Fannin County girls basketball team to a 53-51 win over West Hall in the opening round of the Region 7-AAA Tournament Tuesday.<br> <br> Fannin coach Johhny Farmer said he wasn&#39;t nervous despite the four timeouts that were called during her free throw session.<br> <br> &#34;She&#39;s the best shooter we got and wouldn&#39;t have wanted anyone else up there in that situation,&#34; Farmer said.<br> <br> Both shots drew nothing but net.<br> <br> West Hall&#39;s desperation 3-pointer from halfcourt fell short at the buzzer.<br> <br> The Lady Rebels (22-4) came in as the No. 1 seed from the North subregion while West Hall upset East Hall on Monday night just to get into the region tournament.<br> <br> The win moves them into the state tournament. They will play the winner of the Johnson-North Hall game Friday night at 7 p.m. atChestatee High School.<br> <br> They were pushed to the limit and Farmer expected it. <br> <br> The Lady Rebels were without key starter Melissa Roberts, who was suspended for the game for fighting last week.<br> <br> &#34;Without Melissa I knew it would be a fight. The girls hung in there and kept fighting and found a way to win. I&#39;m proud of their effort,&#34; Farmer said.<br> <br> West Hall led 15-14 after the first quarter and 40-39 after the third quarter. The Lady Spartans (11-13) led 49-47 with just over three minutes left but then Fannin turned up the defense.<br> <br> The Lady Rebels took a 51-49 lead on a Brittany Lindsey 3-pointer with 2:01 left but West Hall tied the game on a Martha Vital steal and layup with 1:21 left.<br> <br> West Hall would get another shot until its desperation 3-point attempt. Fannin held the ball the final 1:20 until Searce was fouled attempting a jumper after an offensive rebound.<br> <br> Searce finished with 22 points. Lindsey added 11 including the key 3-pointer.<br> <br> West Hall was paced by sophomore Lacy Bartlett with 15 points. She had 11 in Monday&#39;s win over East Hall. Paige Hanson added 13, Heather Power 11 and Vital finished with 9 for the Lady Spartans.

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