Lady Generals finish in Sweet 16
Last season, the Heritage Lady Generals made a magical run all the way to the Class AAAA Elite Eight, but coming into the new season with heavy graduation losses and very little returning in the way of varsity experience, repeating or even coming close to equaling last year’s performance didn’t seem very likely.
Yet, some 12 months later, the Navyand-red were just one win away from doing it again.
After knocking off state-ranked North Hall last Tuesday, Heritage finally saw its season come to a close at the hands of top-ranked Holy Innocents’ on Friday.
HERITAGE 48, NORTH HALL 40
The unranked and unheralded Lady Generals stunned the No. 10-ranked Lady Trojans in Boynton in the opening round of the state playoffs, thanks to a dominant performance on the boards and a physical, in-your-face defense that frustrated the visitors from the opening tip.
North Hall (20-8), a surprise No. 3 seed out of Region 8 after an upset loss in its region tournament, hit three 3-pointers in the opening quarter and trailed 13-9 going into the second when the Lady Generals went on an important 9-0 run.
Five points from senior Lauren Mock and four by Macie Collins gave Heritage a 22-9 cushion, and although the Lady Trojans went on a 7-2 spurt to end the half, the Lady Generals were still able to take a 24-16 lead into halftime.
Heritage scored the first six points of the third period, including another big 3-pointer from Mock, as the Lady Generals took their biggest lead of the game, 30-16, just over a minute into the third.
However, North Hall’s full-court pressure started to frustrate the hosts and the Lady Generals went the final 4:49 of the third without a point. Meanwhile, the Lady Trojans scored the final nine points
of the period to slice the deficit to 33-29 going into the fourth.
A quick bucket by Bailee Hollis, a lay-up by Tori Epps, and another enormous three from Mock pushed the Heritage lead back out to nine points with just under 3:00 to go, although North Hall made one final surge.
A trey by Lexi Jerrard was followed up by a steal and lay-up from Amelia Shoemaker, which pulled the Lady Trojans to within four points of lead with 2:28 remaining.
However, the Heritage defense would buckle down as they allowed just two more points the rest of the way. Heritage added five free throws in the final 2:18 to seal the first-round playoff victory.
Mock, the senior, had 18 huge points for Heritage, while Collins scored 15 and collected several big rebounds. Hollis went for eight points. Epps had five and Ema Tanner scored two off the bench.
Athena Vatchsevanos had 12 points to pace North Hall, while Shoemaker and Rylee Thompson each scored seven.
HOLY INNOCENTS’ 79, HERITAGE 42
The Lady Generals’ quest for a second straight Elite Eight appearance fell short on Friday night.
The hosts jumped out to a 2412 lead after one quarter, though the Lady Generals stayed within reach of the Lady Bears at halftime as they went into the locker room trailing 35-24.
However, Holy Innocents’ — winners of three state titles in the past seven years and a state semifinalist in Class A Private last season — turned it on in the second half and outscored Heritage 44-18 to cement the win.
Epps had a big game with 18 points for the Navy-and-red, followed by Hollis with 10. Collins went for eight, while Tanner, Mock and Reese Abercrombie each scored two.
Heritage ended the season 1512 overall after finishing the Region 7-AAAA tournament as the No. 2 seed.
“I knew going into the year that it might be an uphill battle with all the inexperience,” head coach Greg Elkins said. “Lauren has come a long way with leadership and its paid off, and I think our younger girls have just bought in. They come to work every day and they’ve had really good practices. We’ve been tough and battled through some injuries all year, and we’ve overcome the inexperience by just playing hard.
“At the end of the day, that’s all you can ask for as a coach, just for the kids to play hard.”
The Lady Generals will bring back nearly their entire roster as they will graduate only two seniors, Mock and Alex Taylor.