On Friday and Saturday night, in Elite Eight action from five different sites across the state, 20 teams punched their ticket to this week’s semifinals. Tonight, we covered three sites: Dalton, Marietta and Savannah. Highly-ranked squads like the Columbia boys and Wesleyan girls rolled, while upstarts like Northeast-Macon girls and Franklin County boys advanced as well.
Check out our 12 recaps from around the state…
In a Class A girls quarterfinal, the Pace Academy Knights outlasted St. Francis in double overtime, 63-60. Despite leading 26-18 at the half, Pace needed a Morgan Batey three-pointer with 1.6 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.
The junior guard also led all scorers in the game, pouring in 24 for the Knights. Batey also got offensive help from teammate Kaitlyn Dinkins, who contributed 12 points on the night.
St. Francis was led by a tremendous performance from Keyona Hayes, who had 21 points and 23 rebounds.
GIRLS
Class AAA
Columbia 65, Cartersville 35: In Dalton, the Lady Eagles dominated throughout and led 22-3 after the first quarter and 42-12 at the half. Yaktavia Hickson led Columbia with 12, as the Lady Eagles advanced to the semifinals.
Dalton 50, St. Pius 36: Dalton led 11-2 after the first quarter and 22-6 at halftime at the Northwest Georgia Trade Center. Quaneisha McCurty led the Lady Catamounts with 23 points while Dylan Krause led St. Pius with 11.
Class AA
Laney 71, Morgan County 67: In a game that was close throughout, the Laney Wildcats hung on to a one-point halftime lead to defeat the Bulldogs on Saturday. Despite the loss, Sade Weaver contributed an impressive 24 points for Morgan County.
Northeast-Macon 49, Dodge County 40: Thanks to 22 points from senior Maria Bond and a huge third quarter, the Lady Raiders overcame a one-point halftime deficit to advance to the semifinals. Michelle Mitchell’s 18 points paced Dodge County.
Class A
Wesleyan 78, Gordon Lee 43: Holli Wilkins led the Lady Wolves with 15, as four Wesleyan players hit double figures in Marietta. The Lady Wolves led 43-18 at the half and 23-11 after one.
BOYS
Class AAA
Columbia 64, Troup 33: In Dalton, Columbia sprinted out to a 26-15 halftime lead and cruised from there. Tahj Shamsid-Deen had 18 and Jhaustin Thompson had 10 to lead the Eagles. Columbia advanced to the semifinals.
Franklin County 64, Carrollton 54: In Dalton, Franklin County held a 44-41 lead at the end of the third quarter and extended it to as much as 16 in the fourth. Kareem Butler led the Lions with 19 points, while Josh Barge led Carrollton with 25.
Swainsboro 74, Thomasville 71: The Tigers overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to outlast Thomasville in double overtime in Savannah. Swainsboro was led by Devon Leech and Lynquez Blair who contributed 22 and 19 points, respectively.
Class AA
Laney 75, Lamar County 52: In Savannah, the Wildcats built on a 12-point halftime lead to roll into next week’s final four. Laney’s Corinthian Brown led all scorers with 25, while Camden Foster’s 22-point effort led Lamar County.
Class A
Wilkinson County 85, Pace Academy 70: In Marietta, Pace Academy’s Josh Swan led all scorers with 37, but the Knights fell behind 29-15 after one and could not recover. Jarvis Williams had 30 to lead Wilkinson County.
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