Rockdale County girls win Region 3-AAAAAA title as a fourth seed

JONESBORO, GEORGIA – Winning a region championship as a No. 4 seed is a rather daunting task.

The Rockdale County girl's basketball team entered the Region 3-AAAAAA tournament as the fourth seed in what was without question the most talented region in the state. The region featured four teams ranked inside the Top 5 in Class 6A.

With the odds stacked against them, the Bulldogs’ confidence didn’t waver.

After upsetting No. 5 ranked Lovejoy in the tournament semifinals on Tuesday, the Bulldogs took down No. 6 ranked Woodward Academy in overtime, 78-70, Thursday night to claim the region championship in stunning fashion.

Rockdale head coach Sean Turley, who has now helped lead the Bulldogs to their third region championship in four years, said his team rallied around senior guard Lia Edwards, who was unable to play in the region tournament due to an ankle injury and used that as motivation.

“We’ve got a really talented team,” Turley said. “No slight to any of those other teams because they’re just as talented as we are. I think playing in this region really tested our mental. The girls said they were going to support their sister and make sure Lia still has games. They just rallied around that and played like they did tonight. God is good.”

The game featured 14 lead changes and seven ties between the two heavyweights.

After three quarters of play, the Bulldogs trailed 56-52. With momentum in favor of the War Eagles, a quick three-point play from Sara Lewis just 14 seconds into the fourth quarter extended their lead to seven.

That was the largest lead of the game for the War Eagles, but it didn’t last for long.

After missing a lot of the first half in foul trouble, Bulldogs’ senior forward Nylah Williams was instrumental in helping lead the comeback.

Trailing 61-58 with under five minutes remaining, Williams converted a three-point play after getting fouled to tie the game for the first time since late in the third quarter.

She followed that up with another three-point play on the Bulldogs’ next possession which knotted the game at 63 after missing the free throw. That gave Williams seven points in the quarter and more importantly, all the momentum to the Bulldogs.

“The seniors stepped up,” Turley said. “They’ve been in those stressful situations before, so it was good to see them excel and come out with the win. It was good to see them push through.”

After shooting the ball very well for the first three quarters, the War Eagles went ice-cold in the fourth.

That allowed the Bulldogs to get back into the game and later take a four-point lead, 67-63 after Danielle Carnegie scored on a layup after a huge Madison Presha offensive rebound.

The Bulldogs had chances to end the game in regulation, but couldn’t hit their free throws.

Tre’Miyah Berry and Presha both missed the front end of 1-and-1 situations with under two minutes remaining that would have likely ended the game. But instead, it gave the War Eagles just enough life to take advantage.

Lauryn Dennis-Cooper converted a pair of free throws to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 67-65 with 1:16 left and Delaney Cooper then ended a long field goal drought by the War Eagles to knot the game at 67 with 50 seconds left.

Prior to Cooper’s layup, the War Eagles had shot just 3 of 13 from the field in the fourth quarter.

Both teams had an opportunity to score in the closing seconds. Carnegie missed a go-ahead jumper with under 20 seconds remaining and that gave the War Eagles a chance to win the game on their final possession.

Lewis had a short baseline jumper to win the game with under five seconds remaining, but missed to send the game into overtime still tied at 67.

In overtime, the Bulldogs dominated.

A baseline jumper from Presha gave the Bulldogs a 69-67 on the first possession of overtime and they never surrendered the lead from there.

Both Lewis and Kayla Whitner fouled out in overtime for the War Eagles, and by then there was little they could do.

Lewis’s foul out came after Presha grabbed a crucial offensive rebound and was fouled by Lewis with 1:53 left in overtime.

“This is just unbelievable,” Presha said. “In the regular season, Woodward beat us twice, so I just wanted this game. When it came down to it, I got Sara, one of their leading scorers, out of the game. It was just about locking in and I wanted it more than them.”

The Bulldogs knocked down nine free throws in overtime while the War Eagles continued to miss shots. They shot 0-for-4 in overtime and managed to shoot just 4-for-19 in the fourth quarter and overtime periods combined.

Carnegie poured in a game-high 29 points for the Bulldogs and flirted with a triple-double on the night. Berry knocked down three long balls to finish her night with 17 points.

Presha scored 13 and Willams scored 12, all in the second half.

“We played hard and we earned what we got,” Turley said. “It wasn’t given to us by any stretch of the imagination. We had to earn it and the ladies earned it. They did a really good job.”

The Bulldogs lost both regular-season meetings against the War Eagles. They lost the first meeting 78-72 and the second 61-52.

Turley said the game plan didn’t change heading into the third meeting against them.

“Woodward is a really good team,” Turley said. “I just think it was one of those nights where the ball bounced our way. So we’ll take it.”

Kameron Herring led the War Eagles in scoring with 24 points, 13 of which came in the third quarter. Delaney Cooper scored 14 points while Lewis chipped in with 10 in the loss.

With the win, the Bulldogs will enter the state tournament with a No. 1 seed. The War Eagles will enter with a No. 2 seed.