FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Defending champion North Hall opened the 2022 Lanierland Tournament with a solid 74-8 win over West Hall Wednesday at the Cherokee Bluff gym.
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The Lady Trojans made sure there would be no upset running out to a 31-0 lead after the first quarter. Kristina Peach began things with a 3-pointer as she scored the first 5 points of the game and hit four 3-pointers in the opening frame.
Summer Orlick broke the run at 36 with a basket for West Hall (2-11) in the second quarter.
The Lady Trojans (8-3) went on to take a 39-4 lead into halftime and extended their advantage to 57-7 by the end of the third quarter.
First-year coach and former North Hall player Eric Herrick said his first-ever game in Lanierland as a coach was well worth the wait.
“It brought back a lot of nostalgia for me,” Herrick said.”Seeing a lot of people that I remember from my time here 29 years ago. The atmosphere of this tournament is second to none.”
Nostalgia aside, despite the lopsided win Herrick is looking for improvement from his group.
“We really haven’t been shooting the ball as well as I would like,” he said. “We will need to play a lot better to keep advancing.”
Peach finished with 17 points as 11 players scored for the Lady Trojans. Sally Davidson added 10 points, Lexi Jarrard 9 points, and Genesis Satterfield had 8 points for North Hall.
Orlick finished with 6 points to lead West Hall. Lisa Ososkalo had 2 points for the Lady Spartans.
North Hall will take on Cherokee Bluff at 6 p.m. at Flowery Branch on Thursday in the semifinals.
West Hall will play Flowery Branch at noon at Flowery Branch on Thursday in the consolation bracket.
CHESTATEE 52,
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 42
After a disappointing seventh place in the 2021 Lanierland, you could see the sigh of relief from Chestatee girls coach Sutton Shirley as he walked off the court Wednesday.
Shirley’s Lady War Eagles started fast, overcame a sluggish middle, and then finished strong in knocking off Lakeview Academy in the first round of the Lanierland Tournament at the Cherokee Bluff gym.
“You can’t win the tournament if you don’t win the first one,” Shirley said. “We talked about winning on Day 1 so you can get to Day 2. We’re just glad to be in the winner’s bracket.”
Chestatee (9-3) opened with a 9-0 run and looked poised for the rout. But Lakeview Academy (4-7) stormed back with a 20-10 run into the second quarter to grab a 20-19 lead. The Lady War Eagles regrouped to take a 26-22 lead into halftime.
“It’s such a great environment,” Shirley said. “I think the girls were a little nervous to start the game. But being able to come back and get the win I think will help our confidence.”
Chestatee came out firing in the third quarter using an 8-3 run, capped by a Caroline Bull 3-pointer, for a 34-25 lead. Lakeview never got closer than six (39-33) on a Jia Thapar 3-pointer to end the third quarter. The Lady War Eagles led by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter.
Bull paced Chestatee with 19 points. Riley Black added 14, and Addison Boyd had 7 for the Lady War Eagles.
Taliah Gaither led Lakeview with 13 points. Dynesty Putman had 11 points and Kivana Bogne 9 points for the Lady Lions.
GAINESVILLE 65,
EAST HALL 39
The Gainesville girls used an 18-3 run in the first half to erase an early deficit en route to a win in the opening round.
Kedria Young hit a 3-pointer to break an 8-8 tie and Caloni Young and Zaria Williams each drained 3-pointers in the second quarter as the Lady Red Elephants (9-0) turned an 8-4 East Hall lead into an eventual 22-11 advantage.
Gainesville closed out the first quarter with a 7-0 and held the Lady Vikings scoreless over the final 3:24. The Lady Vikings (2-10) never got closer than eight (22-14) on a Kaylana Curry trey midway through the second quarter.
The Lady Red Elephants exploded for a 15-4 run to close out the first half for a 37-18 lead.
First-year Gainesville girls coach Vanessa White said it’s all about improvement for her squad.
“We just want to get better every day,” White said. “I thought we were out of sync a little bit early on but I thought we kind of came out of it in the second quarter. I was pleased overall.”
Gainesville kept the defensive pressure on the third quarter building a 50-28 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Gainesville was paced by 22 points from Kedria Young. Caloni Young had 12 points and Mattie White and Julia Payne each had 8 points for the Lady Red Elephants.
Callie Dale paced East Hall with 11 points. Curry finished with 10 points and Haley Barton had 8 points for the Lady Vikings.
The Lady Red Elephants next will take on the Chestatee at 3 p.m. on Thursday in the semifinals at Flowery Branch.
East Hall will take on Lakeview Academy loser at 9 a.m. on Thursday in the consolation bracket.
CHEROKEE BLUFF 56,
FLOWERY BRANCH 48
Calling it just the first hurdle, Cherokee Bluff girls coach Lindsay Justice was more than pleased after her young Lady Bears held off rival Flowery Branch Wednesday morning to open with a win on their home floor.
Freshman Claire Carlson poured in 17 points to go with 6 assists and senior Mia Williams scored 9 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead both the offense and defense for Bluff (10-1).
“Claire plays much older than what she is and she’s a key part to what we do on both ends of the floor,” Justice said. “Mia just gives us that defensive presence out there, especially rebounding. This was a big win for this group.
"But it’s just the first step right now. We only focused on being 1-0 after today and not thinking long term.”
The Lady Bears defense was tough early forcing 11 Flowery Branch turnovers for 6 points while building a 9-4 lead after the first quarter. They also held Branch sharp-shooter Bella Brick to just 1 shot and no points.
But in the second Brick finally found her range as Williams picked up her second foul and sat most of the second quarter. Brick drained a pair of 3-pointers as part of her 8 points to spark a 10-2 run as the Lady Falcons grabbed their first lead of the game for a 23-19 advantage. Carlson hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to pull Bluff within 23-22 at halftime.
In the second half, Bluff used a 19-11 third quarter run, sparked by Carlson, to reclaim the lead and eventually extended it to 47-34 into the fourth quarter. They held the Lady Falcons (7-5) without a basket and just a pair of free throws over a 9-minute stretch.
But Branch made one final push behind Brick, who finished with 15 points. They pulled within 53-48 with 1:23 left on a pair of Brick free throws but could not get closer as Bluff hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final minute to preserve the win.
Emma Reynolds had 7 points for Cherokee Bluff. The Lady Bears will take on defending champion North Hall at 6 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals at Flowery Branch.
Amiya Scott had 13 points for Flowery Branch. The Lady Falcons will take on West Hall at noon in the consolation bracket.
