HOMER — When Laken Stiles took the pass in the right corner with just 5 seconds left in a tie game with Banks County Saturday night, there was no real time for critical decision-making.
“There was only a few seconds left so I had decided to shoot it no matter what,” the Rabun County junior said.
Stiles choose wisely.
Her high-arcing 3-pointer over the outstretched arms of a Banks County defender found nothing but net and lifted the Lady Wildcats to a wild 61-58 road victory in a huge Region 8-2A game for both squads.
It was the first-ever game-winning shot for Stiles, who was the main catalyst in the Lady Wildcats being able to rally from a 12-point deficit over the final 6:20 of the game. She poured in 11 of her team-high 16 points after Rabun County fell behind 50-38 following a 12-4 run by the Lady Leopards.
“I wasn’t totally sure it was going in but I felt pretty good (when I let it go),” Stiles said. “It feels pretty cool to be able to do that.”
It wasn’t exactly the way Rabun County coach DeeDee Dillard had drawn it up, but they got the desired outcome.
“We were playing for the last shot but (Banks County) was playing tight defense so it just kind of ended up in Laken’s hands. It was a good shot.”
The win for the Lady Wildcats (6-1, 2-0 Region 8-2A) now gives them a big two-game lead on Banks County (7-2, 0-2) in what is expected to be a dogfight down to the final day of the regular season.
“Every game is tough in this region so to be able to get a road win is just huge,” Dillard said. “This was a big win for us.”
It was a physical back-and-forth defensive battle for most of the game as both teams suffered serious foul trouble throughout. Amber Williams, one of the Lady Leopards top players, fouled out for Banks County in the fourth quarter and at one stretch in the first half, Rabun County had four starters on the bench and three freshmen in the game.
As a result, 58 combined free throws, 29 by each side, proved to be a deciding factor. Rabun County hit 20 while Banks County made just 14 for the game.
Banks County took advantage of Rabun’s foul trouble in a huge second-quarter run to end the first half with a 35-21 lead. Dillard had few words for the Lady Wildcats at halftime.
“I expected this type of game,” Dillard said. “We were not very disciplined and got in foul trouble because of that. Banks really exploited us when we had the younger players in and that’s a tough spot for them in a situation like that.
“We talked at halftime about just being disciplined and not trying to get it all back at once. The girls did a good job in the second half.”
The Lady Wildcats opened the third quarter with a 13-1 run, getting 6 points off 5 Banks County turnovers to pull within 38-34 on a Stiles stick-back basket. But the Lady Leopards answered with its 12-4 run to appear to take control early in the fourth quarter.
In the first half, Rabun County used its tight defensive pressure to force three Banks County turnovers and jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead behind Georgia Stockton, who capped the early start with a long 3-pointer.
But the Lady Leopards responded with a 9-1 run for their first lead at 13-11 on a Kennedy Smith basket and the first quarter ended with a pair of Brooke Henricks free throws for Rabun County to tie the game at 13.
The Lady Wildcats reclaimed the lead midway through the second quarter at 21-20 on a Destiny Deetz basket but Banks County, behind Heather Vaughn, exploded over the final 4:41 of the half.
Vaughn drained three long 3-pointers and poured in 11 points over the final 4:11 as the Lady Leopards used a 15-0 run to blow the game open for a 35-21 halftime lead.
It would not hold, however.
Vaughn finished with a game-high 24 points for Banks County but was held to just 4 points in the second half. No other Lady Leopard managed double figures with Williams having just 5 points before fouling out. Layna Parson had 8 points and Jaycen Bowen 7 points for Banks County.
Henricks added 15 points for Rabun County. Stockton finished with 12 points and Deetz 11 for the Lady Wildcats.
BANKS COUNTY BOYS 78,
RABUN COUNTY 63
The Leopards rallied from a big first-quarter deficit to beat the Wildcats at home in Region 8-2A action.
Rabun County (1-6, 0-2 Region 8-2A) opened the game with a huge first quarter running out to a 26-15 lead. But Banks County (5-4, 2-0) answered the Wildcats with a 28-10 second quarter to take a 43-36 lead into the intermission. The Leopards outscored Rabun County 36-27 in the second half to pull away for the victory.
Carl Cleveland had his second monster game in as many days with 34 points, 10 boards, 6 assists, and 3 steals to pace Banks County. Dakota Orr added 19 points and 13 rebounds to go with 4 assists and 2 blocks for the Leopards. Wes Ledford chipped in with 11 points and 8 boards.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2018/12/745172/girls-basketball-stiles-3-pointer-lifts-rabun-to-big-road-win-over-banks