GAINESVILLE, Ga. — When they needed a pick-me-up, East Hall turned to its defense.
The Lady Vikings used a late-game 10-0 run, fueled by three consecutive steals, to pull away for a harder-than-it-appeared 68-57 win over North Hall on Thursday at Lynn Cottrell Court.
North Hall had used a big third quarter run into the fourth to get within 58-52 with six minutes left. But two steals by Amari Burce and another by Kaylana Curry thwarted any more comeback attempts for the Lady Trojans.
“If you look at last year, you're not even going to recognize this team,” East Hall coach Brad Cochran said. “This year's team is very different. “They're playing fourth quarters. We got five girls playing together and we’ve got girls getting more playing experience and more exposure.”
The Lanierland first round win moved East Hall (6-3) into Friday’s semifinals against Chestatee. The loss for the Lady Trojans (4-5) put them into the consolation bracket against Flowery Branch.
The Lady Vikings jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead and then used a 9-2 run over the final 65 seconds of the first quarter to take a 19-10 lead.
And they needed everything they had to offset North Hall’s Athena Vachtsevanos. The senior guard scored the final 16 points of the half for the Lady Trojans.
In between, East Hall looked ready at several points to take control. The Lady Vikings took a 10-point lead four separate times, first on a three-point play from Curry at 23-13 then a basket by Maliyah Butler at 28-18. A 3-pointer by Burce gave them a 33-23 lead and then another driving basket by Curry made it 37-26.
But Vachstevanos hit a 3-pointer to pull North Hall within 37-29 at the break.
A 3-pointer by Curry and two free throws by Burce pushed East Hall’s lead to 42-29 to start the third but again North Hall would not go away.
Allie Holden hit a pair of treys and Vachstevanos hit two free throws to get the Lady Trojans within 49-44. A driving basket at the buzzer by Lauren Hemmer pulled North Hall within 53-50 to end the third.
But a 10-0 run by the Lady Vikings in just over a two-minute stretch gave them a 68-52 lead and they were able to hold on.
For Cochran and East Hall, they’re looking beyond just an opening-round win.
“The mentality in the locker room is that we only have one goal. We don’t want to just get a win in Lanierland, we want to win Lanierland and that’s what we’re working toward.”
Burce finished with 22 points and Curry had 21 to pace East Hall. Tanajia Harrison added 9 for the Lady Vikings.
Vachstevanos led all scorers with 28 points for North Hall. Hemmer had 14 points and Holden 9 for the Lady Trojans.
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY 59
WEST HALL 22
The Lady Lions scored the first 18 points of the game on its way to a big win over the Lady Spartans and moving into their fourth straight semifinals.
Lakeview's’ size and speed was too much for West Hall, recording eight blocks and swiping 10 steals in the first half alone as it took a 45-12 lead.
“I liked the way we established the post early in the game and the way we got out in transition,” Lakeview Coach Ken Huffman said. “I like the way we moved on defense and were aggressive on defense.”
Eleven Lakeview players scored in the game led by Taylor Clark and AC Mitchell with 9 points each. Jadeah Marshall added 8 points and 9 blocked shots for the Lady Lions (7-2).
West Hall (3-6) was led by Olivia Harvey with 10 points.
CHEROKEE BLUFF 72
GAINESVILLE 42
Cherokee Bluff used a fast start to advance to the semifinals at the East Hall gym.
Defensive intensity from the start keyed the victory. The Bears were active in the passing lanes making it tough for Gainesville to get into its offense.
“That’s what we work on each day in practice,” Cherokee Bluff coach Kassie Scott said. “Our goal each game is to hold our opponent under 40 points. I was pleased with our intensity and effort.”
Bristol Kersh scored 17 points and Claire Carlson 15 to lead the Lady Bears. Brooklyn Phillips added 13 points and Emery Jones 10 for Cherokee Bluff (8-3).
The Lady Bears used a 16-2 run in the first quarter to jump out to a 25-9 lead. Defense and rebounding sparked the run. Jones and Halle Wilson were active on the offense boards, giving Bluff several second-chance points.
The lead grew to 25 at the half. Kersh scored 11 points, Carlson 9 and Jones 6 in the first half.
Damaria Colburn led the Lady Red Elephants (6-4) with 14 points. Jaucelyn Smith scored 10.
Bluff moves on to play the Lakeview Academy-West Hall winner in Friday’s semifinals.
Gainesville will get the Lakeview Academy-West Hall loser in the consolation bracket.
CHESTATEE 65,
FLOWERY BRANCH 24
The Chestatee girls used a 16-0 run to open the game and then cruised to a opening round win at Lynn Cottrell Court.
The Lady War Eagles (5-4) move on to take on the East Hall-North Hall winner in Friday’s semifinals.
In the opening barrage, Chestatee got 3-pointers from Caroline Bull (two), Blakely Boyd, and Addison Boyd while also forcing five Branch turnovers.
The Lady Falcons (2-11) ended Chestatee’s run with a 3-pointer from Jess Tamplin with just over 2 minutes left in the first quarter. That’s as close as they would get the rest of the way.
Chestatee built leads as big as 19 points in the first quarter and would take a 36-12 lead into halftime on a Miranda Hernandez 3-pointer with 7 seconds left in the half.
The Lady War Eagles hit 6 treys in the first half while also forcing 13 Branch turnovers.
Chestatee blew it wide open with an 18-5 third quarter for a 54-17 lead, forcing a six-minute fourth quarter. The Lady war Eagles led by as many as 45 in the fourth quarter.
All 9 Chestatee players scored, led by 14 from Caroline Bull, who hit four 3-pointers for the game. Ali Jae Bull added 11, Jamya Weaver had 9, and Blakely Boyd and Lexie Moss each had 8 points for the Lady War Eagles.
Tamplin paced Flowery Branch with 8 points. Kinley Hawkins added 7 points for the Lady Falcons.
