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GAINESVILLE — The North Hall girls basketball program and Lady Trojans’ alum Kristi House are almost synonymous with one another.
Only four times have the Lady Trojans managed to get past the second round of the state playoffs in their history, twice getting to the state semifinals. House has been a part of both teams.
A 1991 North Hall graduate, House was an integral part of that 1991 team which advanced to the Class 3A semifinals that season. She was the head coach in 2012 when she helped guide them to the Class 3A semifinals that season.
As the current Lady Trojans (19-9) prepare for Wednesday’s 6 p.m. showdown with Hart County (22-6) in Hartwell in the Sweet 16, House said she is beginning to see some similarities between the two teams. And she had a hard time keeping her excitement in check.
“Most definitely,” she said. “That 2012 team had shooters, post players, played good defense. This team, at least since the region tournament, has shown it has all the pieces to be as good as that team. They have really started to show people the kind of potential I think they have as a group. It has been fun to watch them grow.”
For House, the transformation into a team that could seriously challenge for titles actually began a week before the Region 7-3A tournament. They knocked off a hot Lumpkin County squad and then a Cherokee Bluff team that also was on a positive roll before holding off always-tough East Hall in the first round of the region tournament to officially qualify for the state tournament.
They followed those up with perhaps their best game of the season, so far, a stunning 71-43 rout of Dawson County in the region semifinals. Then they took Greater Atlanta Christian down to the wire in a nail-biting 58-57 loss in the finals. They had lost by 15- and 7-points in their two regular-season matchups with the Lady Spartans.
“We came into the tournament playing pretty well and the practices coming into the region tournament got better and better,” House said. “The Dawson game, the energy level of the girls was like they were shot out of a cannon. I think that was the first game where I really began to see the potential I thought they had.
“They played just as a good against GAC but we kind of let that one get away from us. But it showed, and I think they saw it too, they could play with anyone.”
The Lady Trojans got their first playoff win since 2017 last week in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs in a strange 45-41 win over North Murray. But a week layoff had allowed some rust to set in.
Offensively at times, they showed their firepower using a big run to take what looked like a comfortable 33-18 lead in the third quarter. But the offense went cold just as fast and they had to rely on their defense down the stretch, which held off a furious Lady Mountaineers rally in the final minute.
But for House, it also proved to her that the current roster assemblage has everything necessary to hopefully make their best playoff run since that 2012 campaign. Senior post Ansleigh Ferguson gives them a solid, consistent inside presence, junior point guard Maci Gillespie runs the show, while senior guard Macy Clark, junior guards Grace Hollifield, Lauren Swanson, Ansley Smallwood, and freshman Rylee McCall all can shoot and light it up from 3-point range. And all can defend.
“Like I said, I feel this group has all the pieces you need to make a run in the playoffs,” House said. “(Ferguson) has had a tremendous year [averaging 14.4 points and 12.5 rebounds per game] and gives us that tough inside play. Gillespie runs things for us and almost knows before I do what we need to do in certain situations. Grace (13.0 ppg) is so versatile and can score from anywhere on the court. Then we have all those shooters who can hit 3-pointers. And all of them can play some defense.
“I really like this team the way it is and the way they are playing right now. They just needed that extra bit of confidence and I think that Dawson game in the region tournament gave them that. It has been a different group from that aspect since then.”
And they will need everything they have on Wednesday in Hartwell. The Lady Bulldogs are one of three Region 8-3A teams to be ranked No. 1 at one point during the season and one of five to make the playoffs, with three making it into the second round. They knocked off then-No. 1-ranked Jefferson in the region finals to take the title.
Hart County senior guard Torrion Starks and sophomore post Taniya Alexander offer serious matchup problems to any defense as the pair is averaging more than 40 points a game combined. Most recently, the Lady Bulldogs beat North Hall twice during the 2017-18 season, first by 17 points in Gainesville but then by just three, 65-62, in Hartwell.
“They are really, really good,” House said. “But so is Dawson County and GAC so we’re definitely going into it thinking we have a good chance to win it. But we’re definitely going to have to play defense.
“You almost have to decide if you’re going to try and guard Starks and Alexander to hold them down or let them get theirs and try and shut down the rest of the team. It will be a huge challenge, no doubt.
“Our role players like Swanson, Smallwood, McCall will have to make a difference on the defensive end. If they can do that, we definitely have a shot.”
House and the Lady Trojans stressed they are definitely taking things "one at a time." But again, she also couldn’t help but mention that the similarities to the 2012 team are clearly visible.
“That team got hot at the end and got to the semifinals. I see a lot of that team in this one,” she said. “The opportunity is in front of them. They have grown up a lot since last year. I think they’re ready to take that next step.”
The climb begins Wednesday in Hartwell.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2019/2/765049/playoff-basketball-lady-trojans-poised-to-take-next-step