Lady Warriors' season ends with loss in first round
By Paul Bridges Sports Writer

Lady Warriors, kneeling from left, are Lindsay Buckhalter, Kayla Craft, Ashley Tedder and Caitlin Cooper; center row, from left, Jana Sizemore, Michaelyn Newberry, Casey Foster and Kyndal Andrews; back row, from left, Fallyn Askew, Kristie Williams, Allison Hutchins, Jodi Harris and Ansley Stewart.

The SGA Lady Warriors traveled to ABAC in Tifton Wednesday for the first round of the GISA state basketball tournament. SGA, the number four seed from region 3AA, faced the number one seed from region 1AA, the Gatewood Lady Gators. The Lady Gators have been one of the top ranked teams in the coaches' poll all season, finishing the regular season ranked second in the state. The Lady Warriors knew they had to play a great game to stay with Gatewood and that is just what they did. They gave the Lady Gators all they wanted and then some for three quarters but Gatewood grabbed the lead in the fourth quarter and hit their foul shots late in the game and defeated the Lady War-riors 47-42.

The Lady Warriors jumped on Gatewood early and let everyone know that they were not going down without a fight. Led by the scoring of seniors Caitlin Cooper, Allison Hutchins and Casey Foster, the Lady Warriors ran out to a 12-9 first quarter lead. The game went back and forth in the second quarter but when the halftime buzzer sounded, SGA still held a slim 22-21 lead. The third quarter was more of the same with great play by both teams. One team would score and the other would answer back with a score of their own. The third quarter ended with the score tied, 34-34.

Foul trouble hurt the Lady Warriors in the fourth quarter. Allison Hutchins fouled out early in the final period leaving SGA without one of their top scorers and rebounders. Lindsay Buckhalter, another starter who is an excellent defender and rebounder, got in early foul trouble and was forced to play most of the final quarter with four fouls before fouling out late in the game. Even though they were short handed, the Lady Warriors played the Lady Gators tough all the way till the final horn sounded. SGA had chances in the fourth quarter but could not get enough shots to fall to keep pace with Gatewood. Late in the game, when SGA was forced to foul, Gatewood hit enough of their free throws to hold on for the win.

Allison Hutchins and Caitlin Cooper shared the scoring honors for the Lady Warriors with 11 points each. Casey Foster had a season high of 8 points. Kristi Williams added 8 and Ashley Tedder, 4.

This closes the book on another Lady Warrior basketball season. Coach Amy Tucker's squad finishes the year with a record of 10-13. The Lady Warriors are only losing three players to graduation this year but those three leave huge shoes to fill. Caitlin Cooper and Allison Hutchins are the top scorers on the team and Casey Foster is the point guard. All three play good defensively and rebound well.

The Lady Warriors will have a good nucleus of players returning though. Juniors Ashley Tedder and Lindsay Buckhalter and sophomore Kristi Williams have all had starting roles for the Lady Warriors this season. SGA also has an exciting group of freshmen players, led by Kyndall Andrews, which will be able to help the Lady Warriors next season.

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