Rome girls punch ticket to state playoffs

First- year Rome High head girls’ basketball coach Jared Hughes knew his team would have to show him something special when it came time for the region tournament.

In one half of a game Thursday, the Lady Wolves showed him just how special they can be.

Rome came back from a 15point deficit at halftime and got help from across the board to get a 73-65 win over Sprayberry in the Region 7- AAAAA quarterfinals at Forsyth Central in Cumming.

The win gives Rome a spot in the state playoffs for the first time since 2012.

“We challenged the girls all week that to beat a good team, which Sprayberry is, we were going to have to win in the half court,” Hughes said.

“We made some adjustments and had some players step up big for us. They did exactly what we needed to pull out the win.”

DeBrisha Daniel had a teamhigh 22 points while Yana Jackson and Kari Johnson had 14 each. The team had seven 3pointers in the second half and Savannah Atkins came off the bench to hit five crucial free throws down the stretch.

Rome (18-7) will face Creekview today at 4 p. m. in the tournament’s semifinals and is guaranteed to finish as one of the top four teams in the region.

“I’m blessed to have a group of girls who love basketball,” Hughes said. “This is where the program should be, and for many, many years, it’s where it was. We’re so glad to have it back there and I’m extremely proud of the girls.”

Creekview (21-4) is a familiar foe for Rome since both teams are in the region’s north subregion. Creekview won both meetings between the two during the regular season, but not by much — one by eight points and the other by four.