Riverview Park-North Augusta, SC
Georgia Sting (GA) vs Southern Queens (SC) - JV Girls
These two teams came in ready to battle. It was a fast paced and physical contest from the opening tap. The Southern Queens came out and established themselves early. Following a driving basket by Aaliyah Lawrence, the Southern Queens jumped out to the early 6-2 lead. The Sting recovered, found their offensive flow and eventually jumped out to the lead at 8-6 following a basket by Hannah Heinen at the 11 minute mark. The Sting then went on to take the 11-8 lead on a transition basket by Kaylee Jackson. They turned up their pressure and began forcing a series of turnovers that they were converting into points. Kelsey Linen made a cut to the basket for a layup that made the score 24-11 with 3:50 left in the half. Southern Queen’s,Tamia Timbers, scored late in the half to cut into the deficit, but the halftime score still favored the Sting at 25-16.
The second half featured a big defensive effort by the Sting. They continually pressed up on the Southern Queen ball handlers and were able to capitalize with easy basket opportunities. It was a challenge for the Southern Queen squad to get clean looks at the basket out of their set offense. A basket by MaKya Bing cut into the Sting lead to make
the score 40-19 with 14 minutes left. The Sting again converted on turnover opportunities and consistently found open teammates for easy transition baskets. Heinen and Jackson continued their good play throughout the second half. The ball security issues of the Southern Queens proved to be the difference as they were outscored 20-5 in the second half. Lawrence was a bright spot for the Southern Queens as she played a tough, physical game and was able to find her way to the basket. She led all scorers with 17 points. The Sting had a very balanced attack on their way to the 45-21 win. They were led in scoring by Heinen with 13 points.