ATLANTA — Social Circle’s girls basketball team traveled Tuesday evening to Galloway High School to face the Lady Scots — the No. 1 seed from Region 6A-Division with a 24-2 overall record and a 6-1 mark in region play. The matchup was both teams’ first round game in the Class A-Division I state playoffs.
The Lady Redskins came out on the losing end of the action 72-27 and, therefore, their season came to an end.
Nevertheless, head coach Dave LaBarrie was proud of what his team accomplished this year.
“Last year and this year are probably the two best seasons that they’ve had, in the last eight years,” LaBarrie said. “
Social Circle finished with a 7-17 overall record with a 3-4 mark in Region 5A-Division I.
The Lady Redskins enjoyed the following wins: 67-26 against M.L. King on Nov. 29, 69-38 on Dec. 10 against Hampton and a 57-33 victory over Lithonia at home on Jan. 17.
Social Circle also defeated Wilkinson County 60-22 on Jan. 28 along with a three-game, season sweep of Jasper County on Jan. 24, Feb. 3 and 17.
By beating Jasper County in the consolation game of the region tournament last Friday, the Lady Redskins captured the No. 3 seed.
Accomplishing such a feat made it two straight years that the Lady Redskins qualified for the state tournament as a No. 3 seed. This succeeded a six-year playoff drought for the girls basketball program.
LaBarrie highlighted what that means for the future of Social Circle.
“You have to start building from the seventh grade, because you’re dealing with a small school with a small population. We ended up with seven players on the team and maybe the two years I have put in have helped the program.”
Featured in the team’s loss column were three defeats by 10 or fewer points, too.
Social Circle lost 50-46 against Monroe Area on Dec. 16 followed by a Jan. 16 36-36 loss to Northview and a 56-49 defeat against Eastside on Jan. 16.
All season, though, Social Circle was led by sophomore star Jada Hyman. She led the team with 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.3 assists per game. During the region tournament, Hyman was announced as a First Team All-Region honoree.
Other Lady Redskins were recognized as well.
Alana Ferguson was named Second Team All-Region averaging 7.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals. Honorable Mention was earned by Kelis Reid who contributed an average of 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game
Overall, LaBarrie feels like the pieces are in place to provide a bright future for the Lady Redskins, but he still believes there’s more work to be done.
“[The turnaround] is not going to happen overnight,” LaBarrie said. “But it will happen and [the players] will be successful. I see a good future for Social Circle girls basketball with the athletic director that’s there, the assistant coaches and the players. I’ve definitely seen progress this year.”
