G’boro girls are Mobile-bound
Published 12:00 am Monday, February 20, 2006
Other area results from Thursday night’s girls’ sub-regional games:
For the second straight year, the Area 6 Greensboro girls flattened visiting Chelsea in the sub-regional round, this time winning 60-22 after defeating the Area 8 runners-up Hornets 52-31 in 2005.
Greensboro faces a difficult Regional semifinal opponent in UMS-Wright. The sixth-ranked Lady Bulldogs defeated Area 5 runner-up Thomasville 46-35. If the Lady Raiders prevail, however, they will meet a very familiar foe in the Regional finals: either Demopolis, who Greensboro split four intense regular season meetings with, or Bibb County, who handed the Lady Raiders their only area loss this season and came within three points of Greensboro in the Area 5 title game.
The Area 6 champion Sumter County Lady Wildcats qualified for their second Regionals in three years by crushing the Clarke County Lady Bulldogs 60-26 in York. The meeting marked the third consecutive season the two teams have met in the sub-regional round, with Sumter County winning by the nearly identical score of 64-22 in 2004 before falling by 10 last season.
Sumter will not be joined in Mobile by Area 6 runner-up Francis Marion, as the Lady Rams fell to Area 1 champion and 3A No. 8 T.R. Miller 55-39 on the road.
The Lady Wildcats will face a very difficult Regionals field, beginning with semifinals opponent Leeds, the Area 8 champion and 64-26 winners Thursday over Indian Springs. In the other semifinal, Miller will face 3A No. 3 Midfield.
No. 2 R.C. Hatch received a tougher-than-expected challenge at home from Area 8 runner-up Shades Mountain Christian, but prevailed 66-62 to preserve their record of having qualified for every Regionals this decade.
The Area 6 champion Lady Bobcats will come to Mobile looking for their third Final Four appearance in four years, starting with a semifinal game against Area 1 champion Washington County, 52-32 winners over Georgiana. A win there could pit Hatch against the team that eliminated them in the 2005 Regional finals, the Calera Lady Eagles, 61-50 winners over Area 6 runners-up Keith. Calera will face Flomaton in the other semifinal.
The Akron Lady Rams pulled off a stunner Thursday, defeating the Area 2 champion Linden Lady Patriots in Linden by a basket, 47-45. The win gives Area 8 runner-up Akron their second Regionals appearance in three years while the Linden girls were denied their first trip to Mobile since the 2002 season.
Area 8 champion and 2005 Regional finalist Sunshine cruised through their sub-regional game, defeating A.L. Johnson 71-41 at home in Newbern. On paper, Sunshine has a smoother path to the Final Four than Akron as the Lady Rams will face 1A No. 5 McIntosh, which entered the playoffs at 23-1. Sunshine will take on the McKenzie Lady Tigers in their semifinal.
Akron’s semifinal against McIntosh will tip off the 2006 Regionals Monday at 10 a.m.