After a relatively high-scoring first quarter, the Fannin County and Banks County girls basketball teams went ice cold from the field Saturday morning at the Macon Coliseum.
Things eventually got a little better for Fannin County. They never really did for Banks.
No. 2 Fannin County held the top-ranked Leopards to seven field goals and 24% shooting over the final three quarters and came up with enough points of its own for a 51-42 victory in the Class A Division I championship game.
The Rebels (29-2) won their final 20 games after a loss at Gilmer on Dec. 30 and brought home their first state championship since 1999 and third title overall.
“It feels great. There ain’t no other way to say it,” Fannin County coach Ryan Chastain said. “Our community lives and breathes women’s basketball. Coach [Johnny] Farmer was sitting down here behind me. He had 500-something wins and two state championships. So they don’t know what it’s like to not come to Macon regularly. Our huge turnout today was people hungry to see us win another one.”
Banks County (25-6) had won 22 consecutive games since a 3-5 start against higher-classification teams. The Leopards were playing in the finals for the second time in three seasons but are still seeking their first title.
Banks County led 17-14 after shooting 70% from the field in the first quarter and 19-16 after a jumper by Maggie Irvin early in the second. That was the last field goal the Leopards would make for the next 13 minutes. Despite the cold spell, Banks County still maintained a three-point halftime lead after holding Fannin County to just three second-quarter field goals on 17 attempts.
Maggie Ledford got Fannin County back on track with six points in a 12-2 run to open the third quarter for a 32-25 lead.
Reese Murphy finally ended Banks County’s field-goal drought with a 3-pointer that cut the lead to 32-29 with 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter. They were the first points of the game for the Region 8-A Division I co-player of the year, who was limited to seven minutes in the first half because of foul trouble.
Murphy scored the Leopards’ next six points on layups to keep Banks County within 39-35 with 4:38 to play, but the Rebels answered with seven consecutive points to put the game away.
Fannin County finished 18-for-50 from the field (36%), while Banks was 14-for-44 (31.8%). Ledford was the only player on either team to make more than half her shots. She was 10-for-15 from the field and 2-for-4 on 3-pointers for a game-high 22 points and was instrumental in every Fannin scoring run. She also had seven rebounds, two assists and a steal.
“It’s the sight lines behind the goal,” Chastain said of the teams’ shooting woes. “Think about every high school you play in, there’s a big wall behind the goal. You come here and you’ve got all this open space. We talked about it in the shootaround and said when you walk in that gym, you better get your eyes locked in on the rim because there’s no depth perception. But I think the other part of that is that I want to credit sour kids on defense.”
Reese Lewis had 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots for Fannin County.
Murphy and her twin sister, Ryleigh, had nine points each to lead Banks County. Marleigh Dale had five points, 11 rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot.
Banks County - 17-6-8-11 - 42
Fannin County - 14-6-12-19 - 51
Banks County (42): Janakate Gibson 6, Ryleigh Murphy 9, Reese Murphy 9, Marleigh Dale 5, Ansley Moore 6, Cannon Collier 2, Tenley Maney, Maecee Crumley, Josie Maney, Emmie Chitwood 3, Maggie Irvin 2.
Fannin County (51): Emma Buchanan, Izzie Jabaley 9, Maggie Ledford 22, Reese Lewis 14, Avi Ethington 4, Albany Cole 2, Callie Ensley, Emma Holloway.
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