Harrison Knocks Off Archer To Punch Ticket To GHSA 7A State Title Game

As the Georgia High School Association basketball state championship tournament continued on Saturday, the Harrison Hoyas and Archer Tigers faced off in the girls 7A semi-finals. The got off to an excellent start from behind the arc, making four 3-point baskets in the first quarter. On the opposite end, the Tigers got some great play in the paint from Courtney Nesbit to help keep them in the game as they trailed 16-13 at the end of the opening period.

In the second quarter, Harrison would go up by as many six points when they led 23-17, and would lead throughout majority of the quarter until archer would get a late push led by Nesbit and the Tigers would outscore the Hoyas 11-3 down the stretch of the quarter to take a 28-26 lead at the end of the period. The third quarter would see the Hoyas outscore the Tigers 12-10 to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter, and in the fourth, Nesbit would pick up her fourth foul with 5:50 to go forcing her to go to the bench.

With the scrappy Nesbit out, Harrison would take advantage of her absence, getting a clutch 3-point basket from Alisha Foster that would give the Hoyas a four point lead and then Bailey Vick would help the Hoyas go up 50-43 after drawing a foul on a made basket and completing the three point play. Another three pointer by Anna Gernatt would later give the Hoyas a 53-43 lead, their largest of the game and with Nesbit returning, the Tigers would get back with two down the stretch, but could not over the deficit.

Following the win, Harrison head coach, Terry Kemp said that heading into the final quarter, he and his staff simply “challenged” the team. “I told, look, you got eight minutes. You can be epic or you can regret these next eight minutes for the rest of your life. And that’s the facts, so we challenged them to play, they went out and just played their tale off in the fourth quarter,” Kemp said during a post-game interview. Up next for the Hoyas will be Norcross on Saturday for the GHSA 7A girls state title.