Monday night the Rockdale County Lady Bulldogs were defeated by the Lady Luella Lions 36-24, ending their run to the Region 2-AAAAAA tournament finals.

The loss puts Rockdale into Tuesday night’s consolation game against rival Alcovy, while the Lady Lions move on to face Newton in the title contest.

Rockdale kept the score close in the first half, but was held without a point for over 16 minutes, going scoreless in both the second and third quarters.

The game opened up with the Lady Lions scoring the first points on a layup by Brianna Moore. The Lady Bulldogs responded with a 5-0 run and took the lead on a shot by Sydney Fields and a 3-pointer from Brianna Patton.

 This back-and-forth pace continued, but the Lady Bulldogs ended the first quarter with a 10-8 lead. Rockdale’s 10 first-quarter points were their last until the fourth quarter, allowing Luella to go on a 20-0 run to take command of the contest.

The Lady Lions went on an 8-0 run in the second quarter with the bulk of the points coming from Sade Jacobs. This run helped give the Lady Lions a 16-10 lead at halftime.

The third quarter saw the Lady Bulldogs’ dry spell continue and the Lady Lions continued to add to their lead. Luella scored 12 points in the third quarter  from Jacobs, Moore, Genesis Jones and Krystal Green and carried a 28-10 lead into the fourth quarter.

Shabreta Alexander knocked down a pair of free throws to score Rockdale’s first points  since the first quarter  in the fourth and Jonai Jackson scored Rockdale’s first basket in the quarter to break the Lady Bulldogs’ field goal drought.

Rockdale outscored the Lady Lions 14-8 in the period, but the Lady Bulldogs’ offensive struggles couldn’t be overcome as Luella held on for the 12-point win.

The Lady Bulldogs were led in scoring by Sojouner Hall who had six points in the loss.