8-AAA tournament: Lady Elephants fall in 3OTs

GAINESVILLE -- Like all streaks, the Gainesville girls basketball team's run of state basketball tournament appearances -- which sat at 14 straight -- had to end sometime.

The Lady Red Elephants did their absolute best to keep it going on Wednesday in the Region 8-AAA quarterfinals at Chestatee High, but Franklin County wouldn't let it continue, holding on for a 51-43 win after three overtimes.

Franklin County outscored Gainesville 8-0 in the third overtime as their defense eventually wore down the Lady Elephants offense. Three key steals in the final two minutes sealed win for the Lady Lions, who will move on to play the Chestatee-Johnson winner Friday in the semifinals at Chestatee.

The win clinched a berth in the Class AAA state tournament beginning next week for Franklin County (17-10).

For Gainesville coach Manson Hill, the streak was of little importance: before, during, or after the game.

"Every kid that plays here knows the tradition," he said. "But, each team is different. We don't compare and we don't talk about what we did last year. These girls showed a lot of heart out there. It was a great game between two perennial playoff programs."

The game was dominated by the defenses, especially during regulation. Neither team led by more than eight points and the lead changed hands seven times to go with five ties. For the game, the two teams combined for 19 steals and forced a combined 40 turnovers.

But both teams had chances to win it at the end of regulation and in each overtime period. Franklin County missed three free throws in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and Gainesville missed two shots in the final 10 seconds of regulation that ended tied at 31.

In the first overtime, Franklin County could not extend a 36-33 lead in the final 30 seconds, missing two free throws, and Gainesville's Rebecca Webster nailed a fall-away 3-pointer with seven seconds left to send it to a second overtime tied at 36.

In the second overtime, Gainesville (14-12) used a 5-1 run to go ahead 43-41 with 12 seconds left but Franklin's Kat Wynn hit a running layup with four seconds left to extend the game. Wynn's basket came moments after junior Kynika Coleman scored all four of her points in a one minute span to give Gainesville the lead.

In the third overtime, Franklin's defense was just too much holding Gainesville to 0-for-9 from the field in the period and sealed the game with back-to-back steals that led to four points in a 25 second span for a 49-43 lead. The Lady Elephants never recovered.

Wynn was outstanding for Franklin pouring in 20 points to go with four steals and six rebounds. The Lady Lions needed everything she gave them as leading scorer Jacquie Williams-Perry was held to just one basket and seven points by a solid Gainesville defensive effort.

"We knew Rebecca (Webster) and Kate (Callahan) could guard Jacquie and they did a great job on her the entire game," Hill said. "But Kat is a great player as well and she made some tremendous plays. We couldn't have asked any more from them."

Webster finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in her final game for the Lady Elephants. Mikalyn DeFoor, also playing her final game, finished with nine points and three rebounds. Callahan had seven points, six rebounds, and three steals in her final game before fouling out.

Shakara Little had 10 points for Franklin County.

The game started quickly as both offenses traded 3-pointers in the opening minute. Gainesville grabbed the lead with an 8-0 run midway through the first quarter for an 11-3 lead and it looked like the Lady Elephants offense was poised for one of its best games of the season. The Lady Elephants would finish the period with an 11-4 lead as the Lady Lions were just 1-of-12 from the field.

But Franklin County would stage a quick run to open the second quarter as Josie Eavenson capped a 5-0 run with a long 3-pointer to trail just 11-9. Gainesville answered with a 7-1 run to pull away for an 18-10 lead. Franklin County closed out the first half with a 5-0 run to pull within 18-15 at halftime.

The Franklin County defense finally got to the Lady Elephants in the third quarter. The Lady Lions switched to a pressing defense that forced seven Gainesville turnovers and allowed just one basket as they outscored Gainesville 11-2 in the period to take a 26-22 lead into the fourth quarter. Gainesville used a 9-3 run to tie the game at 29 setting the stage for the three overtimes.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/2/236239