Lady Colonels advance to Sweet 16

The Cass Lady Colonels entered the Class 5A state tournament as a 4-seed, but came away Friday night with an opening round win at 1-seeded Riverwood, 63-57.

The host Lady Raiders led 17-13 after one period and 37-29 at halftime, but the Lady Colonels surged in the third quarter to tie the game at 41-all. In all, Cass outscored Riverwood 34-20 in the second half to escape the opening round with a six-point win.

Cass senior Payton Stoddard scored 11 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter and knocked down all four of her free throw attempts down the stretch. Her total included a trio of three-pointers on the night. Sharia Wade followed Stoddard with 13 points while Londaisha Wade scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half. Amber Brittian contributed eight. Claire Davis had five and Alexis Ware added four points for the Lady Colonels.

Jasmine Green led Riverwood with 16 points. Martha Ross and Olivia Smith added 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Lady Raiders season ends with a 16-12 record.

Cass (22-7) will now travel to Columbia next Wednesday or Thursday (TBD) for a Sweet Sixteen matchup. Columbia advanced Friday night with a 53-38 win at home over Loganville.