Lady Canes advance to host in the Elite Eight with a victory at Warner Robins

February 27, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com

Kaytlin Arnold paced Cartersville with 22 points Friday night at Warner Robins.

The Cartersville Lady Canes dominated the two middle quarters Friday night and held on to defeat the Warner Robins Lady Demons 48-40 on their home floor in the Sweet Sixteen round of the GHSA Class 4A state tournament.

Cartersville trailed 15-10 at the end of the opening period, but outscored Warner Robins 13-6 in the second quarter and 17-5 in the third quarter to build a 14-point lead.  The Lady Canes then made 12 of 15 free throws in the second half, including 4 of 6 in the fourth quarter, to hold off a late charge by the Demons.

The Cartersville victory snapped a 12-game winning streak by Warner Robins heading into the second-round game.

"That was a tough environment to play in," said Lady Canes' coach Alvah Beasley following the victory. "The girls played hard and did a great job of executing our game plan."

Kaytlin Arnold scored a game-high 22 points to pace the Lady Canes in the scoring column. Arnold added five rebounds and four assists.  Trinity Montgomery finished with nine points, six rebounds, and three assists. Zoe McCurry posted seven points, seven boards, and four assists. Blakely Morris chipped in with five points. Kaelyn Agee and Reese Gibson added three and two points, respectively.

Laila Howard-Haney led Warner Robins with 16 points. Janelle Turner added 12 for the Demons, who had their season end with a 23-4 record.

Cartersville (23-5) earns a home game in the state quarterfinals. The Lady Canes will host Northview on Tuesday night. The Lady Titans (18-12), a No. 4 seed from Region 5-AAAA, have knocked off higher seeds Harris County (55-45) and Blessed Trinity (42-29) in the first two rounds.