Lady Hornets beat Canton in seeding battle
CANTON -- The Athens Lady Hornets overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to beat the Canton Eaglettes on the road Friday night, clinching second place in District 14-4A.
The two teams finished the regular season with identical 6-4 district records, forcing Friday night's game to determine playoff seeding. The details for the Lady Hornets' bi-district game next week have not been determined yet.
Friday, Athens fell behind Canton at the half, 31-21, but whittled away at the lead throughout the third and fourth quarters. The Lady Hornets went ahead for good late in the fourth when McKenzie Hair hit a 3-pointer sandwiched by two Karlie Cook baskets from beyond the arc. The three buckets came in a 30-second span and spelled the end for the Eaglettes.
A big factor in the second half comeback was the defense of Janaya Roberts on Canton's Amari Welch. Welch was held to just 6 points in the second half after she had scored 13 in the first half. Also, because of the way Roberts shadowed Welch, Canton had trouble getting into their halfcourt offense and turned the ball over 13 times in the second half.
Offensively, Mimi McCollister went off for 32 points, including six 3-pointers. Three of those treys came back-to-back-to-back in the second half, keeping Athens within striking distance of Canton.
Karlie Cook added 9 points for the Lady Hornets, Janessa Kiser had 8, Kyra Dawson 5, and McKenzie Hair 3.
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