Six teams from Forsyth and Cherokee County entered the state basketball tournament in their respective classifications over the weekend, but only one escaped the first round. The Etowah girls basketball team beat Brookwood in the first round of the playoffs, 65-40. Defense has been the team’s specialty all year long and when they needed it the most, it proved to be the difference maker in the game. The Lady Eagles locked down on coverage early by forcing their opponent to take numerous bad shots. Etowah went on a 7-0 run to start the game and never looked back. Krysta Lewis, Kaycee Cash, Stephanie Huffman and Roxie Oswalt all scored 12 points for the Lady Eagles. Cash had a double-double on the night with 11 rebounds as well.
It was a matchup that was sure to get the attention of everyone associated with the Sequoyah girls basketball team. Not only would the team be facing a Southwest DeKalb team that posted a 23-4 regular season record, but they would also have to mentally block out the fact that this team has won two straight state championships and is in the running for a third. Ashley Reece, Bre Meyers and Emily Caine scored nine points each for the Lady Chiefs. The Lady Panthers benefited from three players in double figures: Kayla Lewis with 18 points, Olivia Gibbs with 15 points, and Chancie Dunn with 10. The final tally was Southwest DeKalb 85, Sequoyah 49.
A late second-half surge boosted Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe over Creekview 35-33 on a night when neither team could get anything going on offense. The Lady Grizzlies, who made the tournament as a fourth seed, clung to a 10-point lead with a little over 3:30 remaining in the third quarter, but could not stop Jasmain Carey as she led the Lady Warriors’ comeback. Carey finished the game with 14 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. The Lady Grizzlies mounted a 7-0 run to make the game close at the end. After an LFO free throw, Creekview had seven seconds and the ball to tie or win with a three. Jerrah Baker tried a pull-up jumper from the freethrow line, but it rimmed out just as the horn sounded.
SPRING SPORTS BEGIN …
Etowah, the returning Region 5-AAAAA baseball champions, are back and off to a fast start behind another strong roster. The Eagles return 10 lettermen from last year’s squad, which had high aspirations until it was upset by Lassiter in the first round of the playoffs. So far, the team is 2-0 after beating Lakeside-DeKalb 3-0 and Alpharetta 16-5 in a game that was stopped in the fifth inning. The list is sure to grow, but Brandon Barker (Mercer), David Birch (Chattanooga), James Harris (Georgia Perimeter), Steve Smoak (Wofford), and James Caffee (Snead State CC) have all already accepted scholarship offers. With the experience on the roster and the way the team exited the playoffs in the first round last year, it’s fair to assume that there are high expectations for everyone who takes the field for the Eagles this season.
South Forsyth won its season opener 9-4 over Redan as they look to regain the form that helped them to the best record in Region 7-AAAAA last year. Junior pitcher Jae Hwang, who is new to the school, got the win after striking out 12 batters over five innings. He also knocked in two runs. South actually overcame an early 4-1 deficit for the win. Hwang gave up the four runs before really settling down. Junior, Patrick Olvaney went 2-for-3 from the plate with 3 RBIs including a walk, sacrifice, single and home run. Derek Duffy closed out the game pitching two scoreless innings while striking out three batters.
On the soccer field, West Forsyth knocked in a goal with seven minutes left to reach a 1-1 tie with South Forsyth, which held a one-goal lead for most of the game. West benefited from a strong performance by goalie Hannah Garcia, who continuously turned South away throughout the game. South’s loan goal came on a one-on-one match resulting in Isabella Sudduth scoring 11 minutes into the game. With seven minutes left, Aly Laughin squared up a shot in front of the net and knocked it through to force the tie for the elated West team.
With lone losses against 5A Mill Creek and Milton, the West Forsyth girls tennis team is off to a 6-2 start in its bid for a third straight region championship. Their most recent victory was a 3-2 win over Lambert, which started the season 4-0 and is likely the toughest competition in the region. It will be interesting to see where the run will end this year for West Forsyth as the team consists of 12 freshmen and sophomores with their top three singles players all in the ninth grade.
Gupta can be reached at rgupta@scoreatl.com.
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