Lady Tigers win thriller before falling in second round

The Ringgold Lady Tigers came into the Class AAA state tournament as a No. 4 seed, fresh off a pair of frustratingly close overtime losses to Murray County and Sonoraville in the Region 6-AAA tournament last weekend.

Then on Wednesday, the Blueand-White got to see what it was like on the other side of the fence.

Rachel Lopez’s lay-up with four seconds remaining proved to be the game-winning shot as the Lady Tigers walked into East Jackson and upset the Region 8 champions, 45-43.

Ringgold trailed nearly all of the game. They were down four points after one quarter and fell behind 25-18 at halftime before going into the third period staring at a 37-28 deficit.

But Lopez and Baileigh Pitts both scored six points in the fourth quarter and the Lady Tigers cranked up the defensive pressure, holding the hosts to just six points over the final eight minutes.

Ringgold opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run and eventually pulled within a single point, 4241, with 2:07 to go, before taking a 43-42 lead with 1:38 remaining.

East Jackson would hit 1 of 2 free throws with 20 seconds left on the clock to knot the score at 43, but Lopez came through with one of the biggest shots of her career as the time wound down.

The Lady Eagles were able to hustle the ball to half-court and call a time-out to set up a final play, but a 30-footer at the buzzer was well off the mark as the Lady Tigers celebrated their first state playoff victory in two years.

Lopez had 16 points to go with three rebounds and three steals. Pitts finished with 14 points and eight rebounds and Allie Massengale scored five points with four boards. Leiah Henderson, Hannah Scott, Addi Broome and Kayla Lopez each scored two points in the victory.

CENTRAL MACON GIRLS 44, RINGGOLD 28

Unfortunately for the Blue-andWhite and the fans that made the drive to central Georgia on Saturday, the Lady Tigers simply could not find enough offense to get into the next round.

The ninth-ranked Lady Tigers fell behind 16-6 after the first quarter and never could make up the deficit. They trailed 22-13 at intermission and were down 32-17 going into the fourth.

Kayla Lopez had a team-high nine points and recorded three steals. Massengale scored five points and added one assist and one steal. Rachel Lopez had three points and four steals, while Broome pulled down eight rebounds to go with three points, two assists and one block.

Ringgold’s season ended with a 19-10 overall record.