BUENA VISTA —
Entering the Region 4-A Championship game in Friday night the Marion County Lady Eagles only had one blemish on their otherwise perfect 12-1 region record; a January 11 loss at Brookstone. After thrashing Central-Talbotton on Friday night, the Lady Eagles advanced to the Region 4-A Championship against none other than the Brookstone Lady Cougars, and just as everyone anticipated, the game turned out to be an instant classic with Marion County escaping with a hard-fought win to become the 2012-13 Region 4-A Champions.
The road to the region title was not easy for the Lady Eagles who jumped out to an early 15-12 lead in the first period behind the hot shooting of Jada Gardner, Chelsy Haynes, and Aisha Ansley. A close game would quickly turn into a one-sided contest, however, as the Lady Cougars got 15 second period points from star guard Rachel Moore on their way to a 21-12 second quarter run to close out the first half. As the teams entered the locker room for the halftime break, the Lady Eagles three point first period lead had quickly become a 33-27 deficit.
After rallying her troops, Marion County head coach Dwanna Carter and her Lady Eagles returned to the court and quickly found their stride on the defensive side of the ball. Trailing by six points entering the third period Marion County shut down Moore and the Lady Cougars, allowing only six points. Gardner also got hot again for the Lady Eagles on the offensive side of the ball scoring seven points in the third period to lead her team to a 16-6 run and a score of 43-39 as the teams entered the final period of play.
With the game on the line the Lady Eagles could only afford to be outscored by Brookstone by three points in the final period and still claim the Region 4-A Title. Although that wasn’t what Carter and her team preferred, the Lady Eagles did give up nine points while scoring six to narrowly escape the contest with a 49-48 victory and a Region 4-A Championship during their first season at their new high school and gymnasium. Gardner would once again carry the Lady Eagles in the fourth period with four points, and the Marion County defense would fight off a last second three-point attempt by the Lady Cougars to claim the huge victory.
Gardner led allLady Eagles scorers with 18 points, followed by Ansley with 13 points and nine rebounds. Haynes finished the night with 10 points.
Marion County will now have a week to celebrate their region title and prepare for the GHSA Class A State Tournament. The Lady Eagles will host a home playoff game in their first round after claiming the number one seed in Region 4-A with the victory over Brookstone. Their win in the region championship game pushed the Lady Eagles record to 17-7 overall and extended their Region 4-A record to a phenomenal 13-1. An update for the Lady Eagles first round game date and time will run in Thursday’s paper.
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Related Photos
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The 2012-13 Region 4-A Champion Lady Eagles pose with their plaque after defeating Brookstone 49-48 on Saturday. Michael Medders for the Times-Recorder
Lady Eagles defeat Brookstone 49-48 to win Region 4-A Championship
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