Excel girls rally late for region road win; Cass has win streak snapped
The Excel Christian Academy Lady Eagles came-from-behind late to edge region foe Gordon Lee Friday night in Chickamauga, while Cass had a seven-game win streak snapped by Class AAAAA 10th-ranked Villa Rica. The Adairsville and Cartersville girls also suffered losses Friday night.
EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY GIRLS 45, GORDON LEE 43
The Excel Christian Academy Lady Eagles recovered from a slow start Friday night in Chickamauga to defeat Gordon Lee and come away with a narrow, two-point region victory.
The dramatic, come-from-behind effort, was capped by a three-point play by Rylie Boston and an ensuing steal by Brighton McCollum after Excel had fallen behind by one point in the final 16 seconds.
Gordon Lee led 16-5 after the first period, but the Lady Eagles narrowed the gap to 22-17 by the intermission.
Excel then outscored the Lady Trojans 16-5 in the third quarter to take a 33-27 lead and then held on for an important Region 6-A win that included the last second heroics.
Kalli Beth Scheff, Whitney Harris, and Rylie Boston scored 11 points each to lead Excel in the scoring column. Brighton McCollum followed with nine points. Bailey Cox chipped in two points and Landry McCollum rounded out the scoring with one point.
Gracie O’Neal led Gordon Lee with 11 points. Molly Thomason scored nine for the Lady Trojans.
Gordon Lee fell to 7-9 overall and 3-3 in region play.
Excel (8-3, 4-1) plays at Christian Heritage next Tuesday and will host Mt. Zion-Carroll on Friday and North Cobb Christian for homecoming Saturday, January 21 at 1pm.
CHAPEL HILL GIRLS 60, CARTERSVILLE 38
Another slow start doomed the Lady Canes Friday night at Chapel Hill in a 60-38 Region 5-AAAA loss.
Chapel Hill led 21-10 after the first eight minutes and 37-22 at halftime.
Alexia Wallace and Breanna Stephens led the Lady Panthers with 13 points each. Takayla Robinson and Kennedy Wilson also reached double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Madison McKinney led Cartersville in scoring with 13 points. Monica Matuba and Addie Smith scored six points each. India Reid and Kimora McClinic added four apiece. Camilla Rodriquez and Chloe Davis chipped in two points each. Amya Davis added one.
Chapel Hill improved to 7-6 overall and is 3-0 in region play.
Cartersville (6-8, 0-3) entertains Calhoun Saturday at 2:30pm.
SONORAVILLE GIRLS 53, ADAIRSVILLE 43
A furious rally and 21-point fourth quarter was not enough for the Adairsville Lady Tigers to overcome a sizable early lead as Sonoraville held on for a 10-point Region 6-AAA win Friday night.
The Lady Phoenix led 26-15 at halftime and pushed their advantage to 41-22 after three periods.
Maliyah Parks scored 13 points to lead the Lady Phoenix. Cortney Williams followed with 12 points and Grace Darnell added 11.
Zay Harris led Adairsville with 13 points, followed by Havyn Isaac with 11 and Josie Summerville with 10 points. Taylor Green chipped in four points. Chloe Powell added three points and Emily Collum two for the Lady Tigers.
Sonoraville improved to 4-13 overall and 3-5 in region play.
Adairsville (6-9, 2-5) hosts Pickens Tuesday.
No. 10 VILLA RICA GIRLS 75, CASS 37
The 10th-ranked Lady Wildcats jumped out to an 18-7 lead after one quarter and never looked back on their way to a 75-37 Region 7-AAAAA win at Cass Friday night.
Villa Rica led by 15 at halftime and controlled the contest 55-27 after three quarters.
DeAsia Merrill led Villa Rica with 26 points. Jaila Orozco scored 20 for the Lady Wildcats who improved to 15-1 on the season and 8-1 in region play.
Chanel Clemmons had 10 points for Cass. Jana Morning totaled six.
Cass (11-4, 5-3) hosts Paulding County Saturday and travels to East Paulding Tuesday.
