63rd Lanierland girls: Defense propels Lady Red Elephants to Lanierland title

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The plan for Gainesville was to limit Kristina Peach and the North Hall 3-point bombers from getting unleashed in the 63rd Lanierland Tournament final.

The Lady Red Elephants used a tenacious pressure defense and a decided height advantage to near-perfection in knocking off the defending championships 59-50 on Friday at the Cottrell Center at Chestatee High School.

(READ HERE: 63rd Lanierland boys: GHS rolls to 24th Lanierland title)

The win for the Lady Red Elephants was their second Lanierland crown in the last three seasons. North Hall was looking for back-to-back titles for the first time since 1987-88.

It was the first for new Gainesville coach Vanessa White, who came to an understanding of the atmosphere of the state’s longest-running holiday tournament.

“I was a bit surprised by the excitement and the energy of the tournament. Just a great atmosphere,” White said. “The seniors have worked so hard. I’m just so proud of them.”

Gainesville (11-0) overcame a 42-36 North Hall lead late in the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Trojans 23-8 over the final 9:21. They held North Hall (9-4) to just 6-of-26 shooting from 3-point range, blocking a pair of long-range shots and contesting almost all of them.

In the comeback, senior Keke Jones hit back-to-back 3-pointers to ignite the team and the crowd. Seniors Caloni Young and Kedria Young, who was named the MVP, and sophomore Drea Mattox controlled the passing lanes.

Kedria Young finished with 18 points, all from the inside, and 4 steals, and Caloni Young had 8 points, also from the inside, and 3 steals. Mattox, who came off the bench, had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and was 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Jones finished with 11, including three 3-pointers, all in the second-half comeback.

“I really thought we did a great job on defense in the fourth quarter. Our defense is what won us this game,” White said. “Kedria and Caloni really played well on both ends. Drea was a big key for us. She has really improved since the beginning of the season and gives us another good defender and is getting better on the offensive end.”

First-year North Hall coach Eric Herrick said the Gainesville offense turned the game around, in his opinion.

“We were giving them the 3-point shots, and they hit a couple to get back in the game, and then they were able to pound it inside (to the Young sisters). We had a hard time stopping that,” he said. “At the end, they put a lot of pressure on our shooters, and we probably took some we shouldn’t have. (Gainesville) played a good game. You have to give them credit.”

Peach finished with 18 points but had just 6 after halftime for North Hall. Rylee Thompson had 11 points, and Genesis Satterfield pumped in 8 to go with 4 rebounds for the Lady Trojans.

The Lady Red Elephants turned on the defensive pressure from the beginning forcing turnovers on North Hall’s first two possessions to take a quick 4-0 lead on a basket by Kedria Young and two Caloni Young free throws. The Lady Trojans had more turnovers (4) than shots (3) over the first three minutes.

But Peach finally put North Hall on the board with a 3-pointer nearly two minutes in. Gainesville responded with a 5-0 run, including a Zaria Williams 3-pointer.

The Lady Trojans finally began to find their range, going on a 13-6 run capped by a Thompson 3-pointer to take a 16-15 lead. The two teams then traded the lead five times, with Gainesville leading 22-20 following a Julia Payne 3-pointer.

North Hall answered that with a 10-2 run over the final 4:36, with Amelia Shoemaker hitting a trey and Peach pouring in five points, including a three-point play with 14 seconds left for a 30-24 halftime lead.

The Lady Trojans opened up a 39-33 lead in the third quarter on a Thompson trey and led 42-36 on a Peach 3-pointer. But the pair had just 1 combined point the rest of the way.

The Gainesville defense held North Hall to just two field goals over the final 7:14 of the game.