Armuchee girls pull away for win over Coosa
♦ Pepperell overcomes a slow start to tie Woodland before the Lady Wildcats win.
Four girls’ basketball teams put their all on the court as they played their final games in the 66th Annual Seven Hills Rotary/rome News-tribune Christmas Tournament on Tuesday at Georgia Highlands College.
Armuchee’s girls used a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s first game to springboard them to a 52-35 win over Coosa.
Coosa (1-8) used 3-pointers from Kasey Thacker, Allie Hall and Jordan Roberts in the second period to tie Armuchee at 20 apiece before Paris Woodard made her way inside to make
a layup with 35 seconds left to give the Lady Eagles a 22-20 lead at the half.
Armuchee (6-6) came back with a 13-point third quarter
and was up 33-28 heading into the fourth period. Thacker made her second trey of the game to kick off the final quarter to put Coosa within two of Armuchee before the Lady Indians took off on their defining run.
“We started off really focused. Our offense was really well and we had good defense,” Armuchee coach Michelle Arp said. “At halftime we talked about how we needed to box out because they were crashing the boards hard and getting too many rebounds.”
Armuchee was 9-of-17 at the line in the fourth quarter alone, which helped the Lady Indians outscore Coosa 19-7 in the final eight minutes.
Katie Shinholster led seven Armuchee players in the scoring column with a game-high 16 points, which consisted of four 3’s and going 4-of-6 at the line. Olivia Moses was next for the Lady Indians with 10, while Julia Williams finished with nine.
“We talk about playing as a team and knowing when to take that open shot,” Arp said. “We worked the ball around trying to get that shot and passed the ball well out in transition.”
Coosa was paced by Sarah Arrant’s seven points, while Thacker was next with six.
Woodland girls 39, Pepperell 33
Pepperell’s girls caught fire in the second half to challenge Woodland in Tuesday’s second consolation game, but the Lady Wildcats managed to hold off a final surge and take a 39-33 win.
A pair of quick baskets at the start of the third period
got Pepperell within two of Woodland until a 10-2 run gave the Lady Dragons the lead for the first time in the game, 24-22.
The lead changed hands twice in the final quarter until Jordan Thompson hit a pair of free throws to give Woodland a 31-30 advantage with 2:33 left to play.
The Lady Wildcats kept the offensive momentum until the final buzzer to come away with a victory.
Thompson led Woodland (2-7) with 13 points and went 4-for-4 at the line in the final quarter to help lift her team down the stretch. Ansley Evans was next for the Lady Wildcats with eight points.
Pepperell was led by Chloe Jones’ 12 points as the sophomore hit eight of 10 free throws, including five of six
in the third quarter. Kinsey Wright finished with a pair of 3’s and 10 points total.
A slow start gradually went Woodland’s way as the Lady Wildcats eventually opened with a 10-1 lead over Pepperell in the first period.
Both teams struggled under the goal in the first half, with Woodland striking first as Morgan Cooper making a layup with 5:08 to go in the opening quarter. Aaliyah Barkley scored first for Pepperell making the front end of a trip to the foul line with 1:26 left.
Pepperell (4-7) got its first field goal 20 seconds into the second period as Wright got one in for two. Wright added a 3-pointer as the Lady Dragons outscored Woodland 7-4 in the quarter but trailed 14-8 at the half.