West Forsyth, Langston Hughes, Hillgrove Day 2 Winners Of "She Got Game"
On Saturday, the annual “St. James She Got Game Classic” continued with day two of girls basketball action at the Suwanee Sports Academy and Collins Hill High School. Girls basketball teams from around Georgia and the country were back in Suwanee, Georgia to participate in the annual girls basketball showcase including the Langston Hughes Panthers, who took on the Griffin Bears, the Hillgrove Hawks, who faced the Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans and the West Forsyth Wolverines taking on the Sprayberry Yellow Jackets.
In the Langston Hughes, Griffin matchup, the Panthers were looking to end a two game skid, while the Bears were looking for their twelfth straight win. After a close start, the Panthers would capitalize off of their defensive pressure as they would find themselves with a double digit lead almost midway through the second quarter, eventually leading 29-17 by halftime. While Griffin would get within eight points in the third quarter, the Panthers would go up by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter and hold on for the 54-47 win.
The Hillgrove and Greater Atlanta Christian contest would be a physical one that would need an extra period of play to decide a winner after the Spartans battled back late in the fourth quarter from a six point deficit to force overtime. The Spartans would take a quick three point lead at the start of OT thanks to a Liz Luick 3-point basket, putting Greater Atlanta Christian up 45-42, but the Hawks would close out with an 8-3 run, lead by Amorie Strachan with four points in the period, and Hillgrove would go on to pick up the 50-48 win.
“We talked about clock management, they were beating us to the boards. We gave up a stretch were we gave them too many offensive boards,” Hillgrove head coach Susan Milam said after the Hawks win Saturday as she explained what the conversations with her players were emphasizing late in the game. “But we stuck with it. They stepped up and played defense and got those stops when they needed to, made some big free throws down the stretch and obviously that big shot down the stretch. So I’m proud of the girls for hanging in,” Milam said.
West Forsyth would also pick up a 40-30 win over Sprayberry for their second straight win, helping them improve to 8-6 on the season.
