DALTON, Ga. - Eddie Bryant doesn't mind the streaks his girls are prone to endure in their basketball games - as long as there are more good ones than bad.
Bryant's Heritage Lady Generals had two strong streaks Thursday night in a 61-39 win over Cartersville in the Region 7-AAAA tournament. They were more than enough to send the team to the semifinals and to the state tournament.
The first good run came just before halftime when Bryant noticed his team was rather passive on defense. With a 24-23 lead over the pesky Purple Hurricanes, the coach switched defenses, seemingly waking his team and spurring an 8-0 run to end the half.
"We just came out kind of flat," said Bryant, whose program has now reached the state playoffs in three consecutive seasons. "We had been in a zone, but once we switched to man it seemed to work.
"This was a tough one because we had to win it to make the state and we had beaten them twice this year. They're athletic and big and it's tough to rebound with them, but the girls did a nice job."
The second run provided the knockout punch early in the third period. Up just five after Cartersville's Kimone McClinic's rebound putback, Heritage (20-5) scored 11 consecutive points in a three-minute span to open the lead to 16.
Point guard Tori Harvey had assists on three straight possessions and Shayla Ludy capped the run with a steal and layup. The two combined for at least a dozen assists as the Lady Generals' fastbreak was crisp most of the game.
"Our running game was the key in the second half, and that's what we have to do to play our best," said Sydney Smith, who was the on the receiving end of several impressive passes in leading the team with 24 points. "I've been to the state since my freshman year in both basketball and softball, so it's nice to keep it going."
Freshman Emily Wiley added 13 points and Ludy had 10 for Heritage, while Monica Matuba topped Cartersville with 11.
In other action at Southeast, the Pickens boys won two games, topping Gilmer in a twice-delayed first-round game, 62-55, before upsetting the fourth-seeded hosts 87-78 behind Holden Roop's 38 points. LaFayette also won a delayed first-round game, 49-46 over Ridgeland, and was playing Heritage in a quarterfinal game that was not completed at press time.
On the girls' side, Southeast earned a spot in the semifinals with a 64-42 win over Pickens.
Today's semifinals start with the Heritage and Gilmer girls at 4, followed by the LaFayette/Heritage boys' winner taking on Northwest Whitfield at 5:30. The late games are the Southeast and Northwest girls at 7 and the Pickens and Cartersville boys at 8:30.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22.