The Brainerd girls' basketball team continues to make a statement with an unexpectedly impressive postseason. The Lady Panthers held off a late Sequoyah rally to win 49-44 in Friday night's TSSAA Region 3-AA quarterfinal round.
Coming off an upset win over Signal Mountain for the program's first district tournament championship in six years - after having lost twice to the Lady Eagles in the regular season - Brainerd (17-4) proved that win was no fluke by maintaining a lead for most of its region tournament opener.
Junior Frances Wright came off the bench to lead a balanced Brainerd scoring attack with 12 points. Raijeria Bell and sophomore LeNiya Mason each added 10 points and six rebounds, and Arteya Scott grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
"We had some adversity early in the season, but that just made us come together and become a stronger team now," Lady Panthers coach Stanley Jackson said. "Our kids are hungry for success. They understand nobody expected us to be where we are, but they play hard and just want to win for each other.
"We didn't talk about certain goals; we're just taking it game by game. When you've got more than one player contributing like we've been getting, that's the key. Other teams can't concentrate on stopping just one player. Our kids trust each other and don't mind sharing the wealth."
Brainerd will face perennial power McMinn Central, which beat Tyner 78-19, in the region semifinals.
Region 3-AAA quarterfinals
Bradley Central 60, Warren County 16: The top-ranked Bearettes wasted no time in taking control by following up an 11-2 first quarter with a 21-2 second-quarter run. Bradley Central scored 24 points off turnovers and got 29 points from its bench.
Hannah Jones led the Bearettes (24-1) with 14 points, and Karsee Weber added 13. Bradley Central will face Cookeville, which beat Cleveland 55-38, in the region semifinals.
In other quarterfinals, White County beat McMinn County 55-39 and Stone Memorial beat East Hamilton 62-39.
Region 2-A quarterfinals
Oneida beat Arts & Sciences 90-29, Sunbright beat Copper Basin 49-26 and Wartburg beat Sale Creek 48-32.
Region 3-A quarterfinals
Whitwell beat Pickett County 71-60, Clay County beat South Pittsburg 64-41 and Clarkrange beat Hardy Memorial 88-24.
Region 3-AA quarterfinals
Meigs County beat Red Bank 59-11, and Polk County beat Signal Mountain 40-35.
Region 4-AA quarterfinals
York beat Sequatchie County 70-53, Upperman beat Marion County 87-33 and Macon County beat Grundy County 82-54.
Division II-AA state quarterfinal
Ensworth beat Baylor 70-52.
GHSA playoffs, second round
Class AAA - Sonoraville 67, Sandy Creek 48: The gym at Sonoraville High School is affectionately (at least by locals) known as "The Furnace." Friday night's lopsided win over Sandy Creek was the latest example of an opponent getting roasted in east Calhoun.
The Lady Phoenix (23-4) were sizzling from the tipoff, building a 12-3 lead after one quarter and entering halftime up 31-11. Alexa Geary had 16 of her game-high 26 points in the first two periods, hitting four 3-pointers along the way.
"We got off to a good start, and we played well defensively," Sonoraville coach Stephanie Caudell said. "From the film we saw they were a good offensive rebounding team, so that was one of our focuses coming in, not to give them multiple shots. Alexa Geary played real well offensively. She's been in a groove the last few games."
Matti Parker added 14 points and Diana Smith 10 for Sonoraville, which will host the winner of Saturday night's Cross Creek versus Americus-Sumter game in the quarterfinal round.
Also in Class AAA, Region 6 runner-up Coahulla Creek fell on the road to Stephens County, 66-50, ending the Lady Colts' season at 23-4.
Class AAAA - Cedar Shoals 42, Northwest Whitfield 29: A cold-shooting third quarter spelled doom for the Lady Bruins in Tunnel Hill. Northwest (14-11) led 18-17 at halftime after holding an eight-point lead late in the first quarter. However, the visitors (17-8) outscored Northwest 15-4 in the third, with five points coming from Ashley Lawrence, to take control.
"Their quickness gave us some problems as far as trying to get into any kind of rhythm offensively," Northwest coach Bob Williams said. "Defensively we did fine giving up 42 points, but offensively we've struggled at times all year - but they had a lot to do with it tonight. I'm proud of the girls. They came a long way this year."
Emma Allen led the Lady Bruins with eight points, with McKenzie Brueckner adding seven.
Class A public - Lake Oconee Academy 63, Trion 48: The Lady Bulldogs' season ended at 19-5 after they became the latest victims of Lake Oconee (25-0).
Class A private - Hebron Christian 85, Christian Heritage 45: The Lady Lions lost in Dacula to end their season at 13-7.
BASEBALL
Heritage 6, Ringgold 5: The Generals earned a split Thursday in the back-to-back games against their Catoosa County rivals. Cannon Stafford was 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored, with Gage Shaver adding an RBI and two runs scored and C.J. Robertson and Landon Skeen driving in a run each for Heritage (3-1). Cade Kiniry was the winning pitcher in relief of Zach Barnett (four innings, one earned runs, seven strikeouts), with Caden Snyder earning the save with a perfect seventh inning.
Mason Parker was 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored for Ringgold (3-2), with Sam Mills adding a pair of hits.
TENNIS
In Thursday matches, Dalton beat Douglas County. The girls won 3-2, getting a singles win from Ava White and doubles victories from Emma Ferguson/Ava Knowles and Hollie Dycus-Floyd/Sarah Wise. The boys rolled 4-1 behind singles wins from Nik Carlson and John Carson to go with doubles victories from Ernesto Garcia/Reid Rehberg and Landon Bryant/Tristen Thompson.
Compiled by Stephen Hargis and Lindsey Young. Contact Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293 and follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis. Contact Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.