Unity girls advance to semis

The Unity Christian girls’ basketball team continued their stellar season Friday, defeating The Habersham School 54-39 in the GICAA Division 1-A state quarterfinals.

Maggie Whitehead and Keri Glass each scored 16 points for the Lady Lions, while Maggie Dyer scored eight in the game, which was held at South Georgia State in Douglas.

The win improves the Lady Lions’ record to 16-1 and gives them a spot in the Final Four, which will be held next Friday at Central Georgia Tech in Macon.

Unity, the top seed from the North Region, will play West Region champion Fullington Academy at 7 p.m.

In other action:

Flowery Branch girls 78, Rome 63

Rome’s girls tried recover from a rough first quarter Friday, but the No. 9-ranked Lady Wolves lost to No. 5 Flowery Branch 78-63 on the road in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs.

Rome (23-6) was down 28-45 after the host Lady Falcons opened the game with a 26-11 first period. The Lady Wolves won the second half 35-32, but it wasn’t enough.

Taya Gibson scored a game-high 30 points for Rome, while Re’tavia Floyd hit three 3-pointers in the fourth period on the way to 21 points.

Flowery Branch (23-6) had five players score in double digits.

Rabun County girls 73, Rockmart 46

Region 7-AA runnerup Rockmart ran into a buzz saw Friday as the Lady Jackets lost to visiting Rabun County 73-46 in the first round of the Class AA state playoffs.

The Lady Wildcats held a 42-16 lead at halftime. Rockmart (19-9) outscored its opponent 2016 in the third period, but it wasn’t enough to chip away at the deficit.

Rockmart was led by freshman Keyarah Berry’s 24 points, while Rabun County (23-6) was paced by Georgia Stockton’s 35 points.

Athens Acad. girls 39, Darlington 27

Darlington’s girls held a 20-17 lead at halftime of their Class A Private state playoff opener against Athens Academy, but the host Lady Spartans came back in the final 16 minutes to win 39-27.

The Lady Tigers (10-14) were outscored 22-7 in the second half of the contest, which pitted No. 24 Darlington against No. 9 Athens Academy.

Banks County girls 52, Pepperell 31

The Pepperell Lady Dragons had their season come to an end Friday as they lost to Banks County 52-31 in the opening round of the Class AA state playoffs on the road.

Josie McGraw led Pepperell (6-19) with 16 points. Banks County (24-5) was up 26-17 at the half.

Banks County boys 67, Coosa 51

Traveling to Homer on Friday, Coosa’s boys’ basketball team lost to host Banks County 67-51 in the first round of the Class AA state playoffs.

The Eagles (11-18) went into halftime with a 35-30 lead over Banks County but were unable hold on in the second half.