Lady Warriors inch closer to subregion No. 1 seed
Lady Ramblers enjoy back-to-back wins
The LFO Lady Warriors had a relatively short week last week with two games on the docket.
But it was arguably the biggest week to date for the Red-and-White.
A rivalry win over Ringgold was followed up just 24 hours later by a buzzer-beater over a state-ranked North Murray squad.
LFO girls 51, Ringgold 46
There was some late drama on Friday as the Lady Warriors led 3829 going into the final quarter before staving off a late charge from their rivals.
Ringgold missed a shot inside the paint with less than 20 seconds left that would have cut LFO’s lead to 49-48. The Lady Tigers were instead forced to put top gunner Macey Gregg at the free throw line and the LFO junior would make 1-of-2 to make it a twopossession game.
Gregg then put the game away by stealing the ball on the Lady Tigers’ ensuing possession and drawing another foul with nine seconds to go. She would hit 1-of-2 at the line to seal the victory.
Gregg had seven steals to go with her 21 points. Gracen Hobbs had 11 points and three steals while Jerrian Jackson added six points.
Shelby Cole had 10 points and recorded three steals for Ringgold, while Sydney Pittman had nine points and three assists. Rachel Akers ended her night with eight points and seven rebounds, while Kaylee Womack also had eight points to go with three steals.
LFO girls 37, North Murray 36
The Lady Warriors took another step closer to securing the Region 6-AAA North subregion championship on Saturday and they did so in dramatic fashion.
After the Lady Mountaineers missed two separate times at the free throw line in the waning seconds, LFO was able to push the ball up the floor and the ball ended up in the hands of guard Milijah Williams with the clock ticking down.
Williams made one dribble and pulled up from the elbow, getting off the 15-foot jumper just before the horn. The ball hit nothing but net as LFO stormed the court in celebration of the subregion victory.
Gregg had 22 points, putting her over 1,000 for her career. Anna Rountree chipped in with six points and five rebounds. Williams finished with five points, while Zarria Nelson and Jerrian Jackson each had two for LFO (12-10, 6-4).
North Murray girls 56, Ringgold 37
The Lady Tigers surrendered nine 3-pointers in an loss in Chatsworth last Tuesday. Cole had an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double in defeat for Ringgold. Lauren Terrell had eight points. Maggie Reed finished with six and Akers chipped in with five. Pittman contributed six assists.
Ringgold girls 49, Murray County 36
The Lady Tigers (1012, 4-7) bounced back from the two losses with an important road win on Saturday. Pittman had 17 points and recorded five steals. Akers controlled the paint with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Kaylee Womack and Terrell had seven points apiece, followed by Cole with three and Riley Nayadley with two.
What started out as a down week quickly turned around for the improving LaFayette Lady Ramblers.
After a tough home loss to Gilmer last Tuesday, LaFayette rebounded with a comeback victory at Southeast Whitfield on Friday and followed suit by knocking off county and region rival Ridgeland at home on Saturday.
Emily Redden had seven points for the Lady Ramblers in the 6-AAAA loss, followed by LaTyah Barber with six.
LaFayette girls 51, Southeast 47
The Orange-andBlack polished off a regular season sweep of the Lady Raiders after a big fourth-quarter rally.
The two teams were tied at 22 apiece going into halftime and Southeast forged a 3432 lead headed into the final eight minutes. But LaFayette would score 19 points in the fourth quarter, taking the lead for good at 47-45 on back-to-back buckets by Redden, who would finish the night with nine points.
Marquila Howell had 14 points, eight rebounds and seven steals. S.J. Oxford had a dozen points to go with seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Barber had 11 points, nine rebounds and seven steals, while Nicky Yancy finished with five points and three steals.
LaFayette girls 62, Ridgeland 53
Less than 24 hours later, and back on their own home floor, the Lady Ramblers extended their winning streak to two games with a wire-to-wire win.
LaFayette (4-16, 3-8) a 17-16 lead after the first quarter and extended it to 33-22 by halftime. They led by eight to begin the fourth, but used a 20-point final period to put the game away.
Two Lady Ramblers finished with doubledoubles. Barber had 18 points and 14 rebounds to go with four assists, while Howell had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Yancy had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. Oxford had nine points, as did Redden, who also chipped in with three assists.
LaFayette also helped itself out at the charity stripe, going 24of-36 for the game.