RINGGOLD, Ga. - When the six seniors on this year's Heritage High School girls' basketball team started their hoops journey together in the sixth grade, there's no way they could have imagined the road would lead to a berth in the GHSA state quarterfinals and a chance to host the top-ranked team in Class AAAA.
And while Wednesday night's 71-43 loss to Carver-Columbus isn't the way they'd hoped their story would end, the group will go down as the most successful yet to don Lady Generals basketball jerseys.
As they exited the court together for the final time with just less than two minutes remaining to a standing ovation, they did so having amassed 90 wins over four years, including a Region 6-AAAA tournament championship and the first two state playoff wins in program history during their final season together.
"The thing about this senior bunch is that they've played hard their entire careers," Heritage coach Eddie Bryant said. "I would have loved to have seen them win a couple more, but it's been a great year, the best in our history."
Added Bryant: "I care about them like they were my own daughters. I love them and I'm really going to miss them."
After two hard-fought wins to get to the quarterfinals - 53-51 over Chestatee and 53-42 over Oconee County - Heritage (24-6) ran into a buzzsaw. The Lady Tigers (30-0) have an average margin of victory of 38 points this season, when they have scored more than 90 points seven times and have hit triple-digits twice.
Despite the 28-point final margin, the Lady Generals battled. After scoring the first bucket of the game, Carver went on its first of two 13-0 runs and had a commanding 20-7 lead after a quarter.
The two teams went back and forth over the next two quarters, with Sarah Bandy trying to keep the Lady Generals within striking distance. She finished with a team-high 16 points, going 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and Ansley Bice chipped in 11 points.
"This year was our year; we deserved it," Bandy said. "We put in a hundred percent every practice and every game. We said that win or lose tonight, we were going to leave it on the court."
The second 13-point run by the Lady Tigers came at the start of the final period. What had been a 17-point deficit for Heritage swelled to 30 over a four-minute stretch, effectively closing the door on any comeback attempt.
Still, there was nothing but smiles, hugs, and fond memories after the group exited the locker room and looked back on their seven years together.
"This team has been so special to all of us," said Reagan Armour, who is committed to play softball at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. "I can't remember the last time we didn't play a basketball game together, and going out with them is going to be hard."
Said Emily Wiley, the 6-AAAA player of the year: "I think coming into it in middle school, none of us would have said that we were going to be the greatest team to come through Heritage. But we're here now, and it's great to see how far we've come. I love this team with all my heart."
In addition to Armour, Bandy, Bice and Wiley, Haley Phillips and Abby Thompson were Heritage seniors.
Carver-Columbus had four players score in double figures, led by junior phenom Olivia Cochran with 21 points.
The Lady Tigers advance to a Saturday semifinal against Flowery Branch at Fort Valley State, with Luella and Spalding in the other semifinal.
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.