Girls basketball defeats Cross Creek to advance to Final Four

The Lumpkin County High School girls basketball team continued their postseason success yesterday when they traveled to Augusta to take on Cross Creek.
In a rematch from last year’s State quarterfinals game in which Lumpkin won 49-39, the Indians earned a 63-48 victory this year to advance to the State Class AAA Final Four.
Cross Creek and Lumpkin came into the game after playing similar seasons; Cross Creek held a 24-4 overall record and ended their regional play 10-0.
The Indians earned a 24-4 overall record and were 11-1 in regional play.
In this year’s Elite Eight game, the two teams kept a steady pace with each other early on.
Lumpkin was able to build a slight lead, 16-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Again, in the second quarter the teams were evenly matched, with Lumpkin holding a 27-25 lead at halftime.
It wasn't until the second half of the game that the Indians started to pull ahead.
Early in the third quarter, Lumpkin held a four-point lead.
Averie Jones landed a breakaway layup. Then, a three-point shot by Mary Mullinax put the Indians ahead 35-29.
The Razorbacks were still able to put up points of their own, but Lumpkin was able to maintain their advantage.
Kate Jackson followed by picking up a foul and dropping a free throw shot, which Mullinax followed with another three.
The Indian's offense began to click as they jumped ahead 43-35. The swift offense by Lumpkin netted them a 48-36 lead going into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, the Indians led by 15 points with 6:52 remaining in the game.
With Cross Creek looking to slow the game down and look for opportunities to get back in the game, Lumpkin maintained control of the ball and the pace of the game.
The Indians did that as they outscored the Razorbacks 15-12 in the quarter on their way to a 63-48 win to punch their ticket to the Final Four.
Head Coach David Dowse said he's proud of the team's determination.
"Our challenging non-region schedule, combined with a very difficult Region 7-AAA schedule, prepared us well for a tough Cross Creek team,” Dowse said. “It wasn't always pretty basketball, but I'm proud of our team for showing the grit necessary to survive and advance."

UP NEXT

This Friday Lumpkin will travel to Fort Valley University, where the team will clash with Calvary Day from Region 3-AAA.
The Cavaliers are 24-6 overall and recently defeated Dawson County to advance to the Final Four.
On the other side of the bracket, Lumpkin’s region foe Wesleyan (27-3) will battle Hebron Christian Academy (30-0).
The Indians have clashed with Wesleyan on three occasions this season, winning one. Most recently, the Wolves knocked Lumpkin out of the Region Tournament
The first game on Friday will begin at 2:00 p.m., while Lumpkin’s game will tip off at 6:00 p.m.