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PACK 5B
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GIRLS BASKETBALL
Lady Raiders edge Milton for 15th victory
Blake’s 15 points carry North
By Phil Ervin
phil.ervm@forsythnews.com
This time of year hasn't been
the most exciting for North
Forsyth girls basketball in
recent seasons.
But what a thrill it is for first
year coach Eric Herrick and
cofnpany now, especially after
defeating Milton 42-39 at home
Forsyth Central (girls) 53
South Forsyth 25
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Jared Putnam Forsyth County News
Forsyth Central's Keeley Chester drives past South
Forsyth's Rachel Myers on Tuesday at the D.B.
Carroll Complex.
Lady Bulldogs
stifle battered
South squad
Kane scores 12 for Central
By Jared Putnam
jputnam@forsythnews.com
Forsyth Central’s girls
spent Tuesday night
freeing up space on their
calendar.
The Lady Bulldogs
defeated South Forsyth
53-25 on senior night at the
D.B. Carroll Complex and
secured a first-round bye in
the Region 7-AAAA tour¬
nament.
Central (17-7 overall, 9-5
region) cannot finish the
regular season any lower
than fifth in the region
standings and could end up
as high as third with a vic¬
tory against Lambert on
Friday.
The Lady Bulldogs have
gone 3-0 over the past five
days following a stretch in
which they lost four out of
five games.
“The win Saturday
against Sequoyah ... and
this one tonight has put us
in that position where we
want to be," Central coach
Andy Martin said. “1 think
right now we’re playing the
best we’ve played all sea¬
son and it’s going to take
that [to beat] Lambert.”
Central’s victory
Tuesday night completed a
regular season sweep of
rival South (5-18, 1-12).
The Lady Bulldogs won
the only other meeting
50-43 on Jan. 10 in the
Eagles’ Nest.
Centra] had a much easi¬
Sports Editor fared Putnam can be reached at sports@forsythnews.aHn or (770) 887-3126 ext 513.
Tuesday and remaining in con¬
tention for a high Region
6-AAAAA tournament seed.
“lb be honest with you, it’s
just great to have meaningful
games here at North Forsyth
this time of year,” Herrick said.
“That’s what is really inspiring
our girls right now.”
A small run spanning the
final two quarters and a late
er outing this time around
against a South squad
missing two starters for the
majority of the game.
Lady War Eagles center
Ashley Hannan sat on the
bench in a walking boot,
while leading scorer
Kristie Mason started but
exited early with an
unspecified injury.
"We were real proud of
where we were under the
circumstances, especially
in the first half, even
though we were struggling
scoring,” South coach
Keith Gravitt said.
"Emma Kane played a
great game for them. 1
didn’t feel like we defend¬
ed their post game well at
all. We let her get the ball
anywhere she wanted it.”
Kane, a sophomore, led
Central with a game-high
12 points to go along with
11 rebounds, providing the
Lady Bulldogs with a third
scorer to complement
seniors Kayla Richards and
Keeley Chester (10 points
apiece). Rachel Myers also
had 12 points for South.
“I just think in this
[sport], when you have
three that can score, you
just make yourself really
hard to guard,” Martin said.
“Emma stepped up big
tonight. ... Caitlin Dabbs is
playing great inside,
another great defensive
effort from her. That post
See STIFLE 16B
free-throw effort let the Lady
Raiders (15-7, 4-5 Region
6-AAAAA) edge the Lady
Eagles in a defensive dogfight
reminiscent of their Jan. 6
meeting, a 31-30 North victory.
Point guard Kim Blake led
the Raiders with 15 points, 11
of which came in the first half
via 3 of 4 3-pointers. Milton
forward Dayna Hardgrove
poured in a game-high 17,
including 13 in the final period.
The Lady Raiders produced a
BOYS BASKETBALL
Squeeze play
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Jared Putnam Forsyth County News
Forsyth Central center Andrew Fishier puts up a shot over South Forsyth forward
Nick Graf onTuesday at the D.B. Carroll Complex.
Custer, Fishier lead Central past South
By Jared Putnam
jputnam@forsythnews.com
T.J. Custer took over one
end of the floor, Andrew
Fishier locked down the
other. In between, their clutch
performances squeezed the
life out of South Forsyth.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Milton too much for Raiders
By Phil Ervin
phil.ervin@forsythnews.com
North Forsyth’s col¬
lapsing defense smoth¬
ered Tevin Glass in the
paint, altering the four
star recruit’s shots. On
the other end, Raiders
guard Wade Allen rolled
10-3 run starting midway
through the third and ending
early in the fourth with a
Caroline Bowns layup that gave
them a 29-22 advantage, the
largest for either team. The
Raiders went 8-for-10 from the
charity stripe during the last
2:13 to close out the Eagles.
“Coming back from last sea¬
son, 1 know [my older team¬
mates] had a hard season last
year,” freshman guard Lochlain
Corliss said. “Actually winning
Custer scored 12 of his
game-high 22 points in the
closing minutes of the fourth
quarter, and Fishier blocked
three shots during the same
stretch, leading Forsyth
Central’s boys to a 61-51 vie
tory against the War Eagles
on senior night Tuesday at
home a bucket that put
North on top.
The home fans chant¬
ed “overrated,” and the
players they supported
were fired up.
For a few moments in
their 83-35 loss Tuesday
night in Coal Mountain,
the Raiders were hang¬
Thursday, February 2,2012
and being successful, that's a
huge comeback from last year,
a big difference. Nobody
expected it.
“It’s great to be a part of."
Since 2006-07 (North's last
winning season and state play¬
off appearance), the Raiders
were 9-44 in regular season
games played in January and
February. They lost in the
region tournament's first round
See EDGE 16B
the D.B. Carroll Complex,
Fishier finished just short of
a triple-double with 14
points, nine rebounds and
eight blocks,
The victory guarantees that
the Bulldogs (14-10 overall,
See SQUEEZE 16B
ing with the fourth-best
boys high school bas¬
ketball team in the
country, according to
one poll. A team with as
many as four players
playing in the ACC or
SEC next year.
It lasted exactly two
minutes and 32 seconds.
Class AAAAA No. 1
Milton (19-4, 10-0
Region 6-AAAAA)
blasted North a second
time this season, tearing
the ball away from the
Raiders and hammering
home dunks — 10, to
See MILTON 16B