Girls basketball advances to Final Four with revenge win

After a 351-day wait, the LCHS Girls Basketball team finally got a chance to exact its revenge against Cross Creek, the team that stunned the Indians on their home court in the Final Four last season, scoring in the last seconds of the game to take the lead en route to winning a state championship.
And 351 days later, it was Cross Creek who was left stunned on its own home court, as the Indians came from behind to take the win and punch their ticket to the Final Four with a 49-39 victory.
“I’m just so proud of them,” head coach David Dowse said after the game. “The resilience, the toughness, the togetherness they showed, that kind of magic only happens when you have neighborhood kids who’ve been lifelong friends. I think they trust the coaches, they trust each other and that’s when things like that happen.”
After falling behind as many as 11 in the first half, the Indians used an 11-2 run spanning the last 4:32 of the first half to get back in the game.
On the first possession of the second half, Lumpkin finally took the lead with a three pointer. From there, the Indians never looked back as the go-ahead shot was the start of an 11-0 run that gave the Indians a nine-point lead and the momentum to carry them through the rest of the game and onto the next round.

SATISFYING VICTORY

“They got out to a run, they’re a really good team,” Dowse said of Cross Creek. “…The shots started falling and we started rebounding and we started running, which is what I really think we do well….It’s just toughness and like I said, you get that toughness because you have a group of kids that really love each other, they really care about each other.”
And after losing in heartbreaking fashion at the hands of Cross Creek last year, who took the lead in the last second to eliminate the Indians in Dahlonega in the Final Four, Dowse was glad to turn the tables this time.
“I told the girls before the game, there’s something about going on the road and getting redemption for something that happened at home. Sometimes that’s even more satisfying.”
And while the Indians weren’t able to take the win in front of their home crowd, the atmosphere created by those that made the 170-mile trek to support the team made it feel like home, according to Dowse.
“I know we were louder and we may have had more people,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the red and gold, I’d think we were in Dahlonega….it means a lot….that’s what makes it special.”

MILESTONE

With her game-high 26 points, Averie Jones also claimed a major milestone as the sophomore scored her 1000th career point near the end of the game.
“It’s special,” Dowse said of the milestone. “It’s special for her. It’s special for her family. I think it puts a cap on a lot of work that a young lady has done for many years. She’s a special talent for sure. To me it’s even more special because it happened in a win like this.”
Dowse said the sophomore knew the situation going into the game, but was proud of the way she prioritized the team win first before the individual success.
“They care about the team first and then they care about the individual accolades later,” he said. “Averie knew she was close to a thousand [career points]. But she was playing the game the way it needed to be played for us to be successful and when that happens, she gets her thousand. It’s funny how things like that work out.”

UNFORTUNATE INJURY

For the Razorbacks, everything changed when one of their starters fell to the ground with an injury about halfway through the second quarter. Holding a 21-10 lead over the Indians at the time, that’s when it all changed for Cross Creek as Lumpkin responded with a 22-2 run that drastically shifted the momentum. Dowse said it was unfortunate to see the player’s season end so suddenly.
“She is a very good player,” he said. “She gives them some size inside and maybe a little bit more scoring than the young lady who came in behind her….I wish that young lady well. I hate to see that happen. It’s awful.”
Dowse said he feels his team’s comeback was because of their play and not the injury.
“I don’t know that it makes a difference [in the overall outcome],” he said. “We started playing our game. We got out in transition and that’s what we do well….I can’t predict what it would’ve done to the game.”

NEXT UP

Now the Indians await their opponent, the winner of tonight’s Elite Eight matchup between Westminster and Sumter County, who they’ll face in the Final Four on Saturday.
Until they know who that opponent will be, Dowse said his team would take some time to celebrate.
“We’re going to stop for some ice cream on the way home tonight. I told them ‘we’ll stop as many times and you can eat as much ice cream as you want,’” he said.
“On Thursday we’ll know who our opponent is…and we’ll go to work.”
The Indians are set to play Saturday, with a spot in the state championship on the line, at Georgia College in Milledgeville at 2 p.m.