Ringgold girls surge to 6-AAA lead
The Ringgold Lady Tigers maintained their place atop the Region 6-AAA standings last week with three big victories as they began the week riding a seven-game winning streak.
On Tuesday, they ran away from visiting Calhoun, 58-35, after leading 21-4 after one quarter and 36-10 at halftime. Rachel Akers had nine of her game-high 18 points in the first quarter. She also grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out four assists, while Shelby Cole finished with nine points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Rachel Lopez and Sydney Pittman added eight points apiece. Lopez recorded six steals and Pittman had six boards and three steals. Riley Nayadley grabbed nine rebounds and collected three assists to go with seven points. Baileigh Pitts finished with four points, while two points by Wendy Hamby and Addi Broome rounded out the scoring.
On Friday night, the Lady Tigers would claim a 53-52 win at LFO in a back-and-forth game that saw several lead changes, including two in the final 37 seconds. Lopez would hit two free throws with 26 ticks remaining and Akers would come up with one final steal to seal the victory.
Pittman joined Lopez with 12 points each on the night. Pittman also picked up 10 assists and went 8-for-10 at the free throw line, while Lopez was 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Maggie Reed had nine points, all in the first half, and Akers finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
Cole, who Ringgold head coach Margaret Stockburger said was playing a little under the weather, scored just six points, but was praised by her coach for her defensive effort against LFO high-scorer Macey Gregg. Nayadley finished with four points and Faith Bryson chipped in with two.