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Lexi Pierce flies through the lane for two of her 16 points in Lumpkin’s come-from-behind win over North Hall last week.
The LCHS varsity girls basketball team thwarted North Hall’s attempt to secure the number one seed in the upcoming Region 7-AAA Championship Tournament when the Lady Indians pulled out a 51-36 upset of the Lady Trojans at the Longhouse at the LCHS gymnasium on Senior Night to finish the 2019-2020 regular season with an overall record of 15-9.
Lumpkin went into the contest looking to bounce back from a close loss to rival Dawson County the week before.
Lumpkin and North Hall went back-and-forth in the first quarter of play in what began as a defensive battle on the court.
By the time the buzzer sounded marking the end of the quarter, the Lady Indians and the Lady Trojans were tied at 8-8.
North Hall’s offense heated up in the second quarter while Lumpkin struggled to get their shots through the hoop.
The Lady Trojans outscored Lumpkin 13-8 in the quarter to take a 21-16 advantage into the halftime break.
Freshmen Lexi Pierce and Kate Jackson both finished the first half of play with six points apiece to lead the offensive charge for Lumpkin.
Isabel Davenport and Makenzie Caldwell both contributed two points in the first half as well for the Lady Indians.
Looking at a five-point deficit to start the second half, the Lady Indians’ offense finally got on track in the third quarter of the region matchup.
Combined with a tenacious and stingy defense, the Lady Indians’ offense found its rhythm and slowly began to cut into the North Hall lead.
Lumpkin outscored the Lady Trojans 20-7 in the third quarter to take a 36-28 advantage into the final quarter.
Lumpkin kept rolling in the fourth quarter and once again outscored North Hall, this time 15-8.
The second half turnaround allowed the Lady Indians to earn a comeback victory over the Lady Trojans by a final score of 51-36.
LCHS head girls basketball coach David Dowse was pleased with his team’s second half performance and hopes that his players bring the effort they brought in the second half versus North Hall to the upcoming Region 7-AAA Championship Tournament hosted by North Hall.
“It was big for us to be able to fight our way back into the game and turn it around in the second half,” said Dowse. “We got off to a slow start, but looked strong down the stretch.”
Pierce led the Lady Indians with 16 points in the victory followed by Jackson, who knocked down 15 points in the game.
Caldwell, who played solid defense throughout the game, found ways to score for Lumpkin in the second half and ended the game with nine points.
Madisyn Echols finished the game with six points and Lumpkin’s star point guard contributed five points in the win.
The Lady Indians’ win also knocked North Hall out of contention for the number one seed at the Region 7-AAA tournament.
The victory improved the Lady Indians’ overall record to 15-9 and their region record to 6-6, allowing them to earn the four seed for the Region 7-AAA Championship Tournament.
The Lady Indians will look to advance to the second round of the tournament and secure themselves a spot in the GHSA State Girls Basketball Tournament when they battle it out with number five seed Fannin County in the first round of the Region 7-AAA Championship Tournament today, Feb. 5. Tip off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.