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ELLAVILLE – It was a close game early in the first quarter, but the Schley County Lady Wildcats (SCHS) turned up the heat in the second quarter and continued to dominate from then on out on their way to a 63-25 rout of the Lady Hawks of Central Talbotton in the first round of the GHSA Class A Division 2 Region 6 Tournament at Schley County High School.

“Any time you get out of your rhythm with games, we’re use to playing every Friday, Tuesday, Saturday, Friday. With our last game being last Saturday, I think the reason we started out slow was that we had a little bit of rust, a little bit of not having a game,” SCHS Head Coach Brent Moore said. “Once we kind of got into a rhythm and got the flow of the game, we executed better on offense and defense and we were able to get everybody in there at the end, so it was a really good team win. I’m really proud of the girls.”

Three Lady Wildcats scored in double figures. Payton Goodin led the way with 23 points, Jamesen Hollomon scored 15 and Emma Walker had 14 in the winning cause.

The Lady Wildcats jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the first quarter, but the Lady Hawks kept the game close and only trailed SCHS 10-9 by the quarter’s end.

Throughout much of the first half, SCHS continued to be patient on offense and opportunistic on defense. This enabled the Lady Wildcats to go on an 8-1 run to take an 18-10 lead. Over the next few minutes, both teams traded baskets, but the Lady Wildcats slowly began to pull away as the first half was coming to an end. Over the waning minutes of the first half, SCHS limited the Lady Hawks’ chances to score and forced a few turnovers. As a result, the Lady Wildcats had a 28-15 lead at the half.

SCHS went on an 8-2 run early in the third quarter and capped it off with a three-pointer from Emma Walker. From this point onward, SCHS was in total control, as they continued to force turnovers on defense and cash in with points on offense. As a result, SCHS would earn a 63-25 victory.

The Lady Wildcats will now go to Manchester on Monday to take on the Lady Blue Devils in the second round of the region tournament. Should SCHS pull off the victory, they will clinch a berth in the GHSA Class A Division 2 State Playoffs. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m.