Ringgold girls win state opener with starters finally back

Ringgold's Bethany Hedrick (11) takes an inside the lane shot over East Hall defenders in the first round Class 3-AAA state basketball tournament Tuesday night.
Ringgold's Bethany Hedrick (11) takes an inside the lane shot over East Hall defenders in the first round Class 3-AAA state basketball tournament Tuesday night.

RINGGOLD, Ga. - Ringgold basketball coach Margaret Stockburger smiled as her eyes scanned the gym following her Lady Tigers' 69-50 win over East Hall on Tuesday night.

She'd seen the scene before, players hugging each other, high-fiving classmates and embracing family members.

It had been a while since she'd seen something else - her starting five all together to begin game.

The sight and the significance made a huge impact in Ringgold's victory over the Lady Vikings in the first round of the Georgia Class AAA state playoffs.

"Today was the first time in at least 10 games that we had our original starting lineup out there to start the game," Stockburger said. "Karoline Sholl injured her (knee) and missed a few weeks. Then when we got her back, illness ran through our team."

Sydney Shutters was the last to rejoin the starting five. She played Saturday but just a couple of minutes in the Region 6 championship game, a 51-34 loss to Sonoraville.

"I let Saturday go," Stockburger said. "I told them that it's a whole new season."

The Lady Tigers (23-4) are essentially a whole new team.

The starters and first substitutes led 14-3 after the first quarter. East Hall (21-7) came up empty on 15 of its first 16 trips down the court, due in part to Ringgold's defense but also to missing easy shots, including an uncontested putback off the glass.

"We needed something to go our way, and we never got it early," said East Hall coach Justin Wheeler, a former Vanderbilt football receiver. "I wish we could replay that first quarter."

Ringgold senior Bethany Headrick led all players with 23 points and 20 rebounds. Junior Kiwi Dale had 15 points and five assists while Sholl, a junior, contributed 13 points and four assists.

"We'd been sick or hurt, so finally we were all back," Sholl said. "We don't want our season to be done."

East Hall senior Jenny Edwards led her team with 18 points. Carly Winters scored 16 on five 3-pointers and a free throw, while Ashlyn Ellison added 10 points.

"We went to the final four last year," Wheeler said. "I told the girls to stay positive."

After heading into halftime trailing 30-17, his squad cut its deficit to 40-32 by the end of the third quarter and then to 42-36 early in the fourth quarter by using a scramble of trapping defenses. But Ringgold responded with a 10-0 run.

"We just kept attacking the basket," Headrick said. "At this point, we're going to play teams that aren't going to go away."

Ringgold will play Friday at Peach County, which defeated Josey High on Tuesday.

"We're 1-0 in this new season," Stockburger said. "It takes five wins to win the championship."

In another AAA matchup, Sonoraville beat visiting Banks County 66-46 to earn a second-round home game Friday against Kendrick.

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/ UchiyamaCTFP.

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