The Lady Alcovy Tigers finished up their season as the third ranked team in Region 2-AAAAAA, defeating Rockdale County 42-36 Tuesday night in tournament consolation action.
Ayanna Wimbush led the Lady Tigers with 15 points in Alcovy’s 10th win of the season. The Lady Bulldogs fell to 13-9 on the season.
After a tumultuous start to the year, Alcovy coach David Baker said his team showed him a lot that he can build upon heading into the state tournament and next season.
“We’ve been in all kinds of situations, but this is what I took this job for - to see what’s out there and exactly what I need to work on with them,” Baker said.
The game opened up with the first points coming from the Lady Bulldogs on a pair of free throws from Sydney Fields. The Lady Tigers responded with a 4-0 run on back-to-back scores from Tierra Hodges.
Rockdale tied the game up on a layup by Sojourner Hall and both teams continued to trade baskets as quarter reached its conclusion. Alcovy’s Waneshia Morris made a jumper just before the end of the period, giving the Lady Tigers a 9-8 lead heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter began with Rockdale going on a 4-0 run on a free throw from Brianna Patton and a 3-pointer from Jonai Jackson. The Lady Tigers responded with a 4-0 run of their own on free throws and a layup.
Both teams continued going back-and-forth down the stretch of the quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs held a 16-15 lead at the half.
The third quarter opened up with both teams trading baskets until Alcovy went on a 5-0 run. Rockdale responded with a 4-0 run on a free throw by Fields and another 3-pointer from Jackson.
Alcovy battled back and took the lead on a free throw by Quantasia Perry. Daja Barnes hit a 3-pointer to give the Lady Tigers a 30-26 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Rockdale scored the first point of the fourth quarter on a free throw and late in the quarter, Alcovy pushed its lead to five, but the Lady Bulldogs cut into the lead on a layup from Patton.
The Lady Tigers held on to the lead and Perry put the game away on a pair of made free throws for the six-point win.
Both teams will advance on to play into the first round of the state playoffs, with the Lady Tigers facing the No. 2 seed in Region 4-AAAAAA and the Bulldogs facing the No. 1 seed from the same region. The Region 4 tournament will wrap up Wednesday night.
“The game plan going is to protect the basketball. We have to protect the basketball because we’re probably going to play a good disciplined, kind of team” Baker said.
Tournament game times have yet to be set.
