Rabun Guards Take Over Late, Advance Over Elbert

There is an old saying "Third times the charm", and in basketball terms you hear people say "it's hard to beat a good team three times". Both adages turned out to be correct on Wednesday night at Piedmont College, as Rabun County's guards took over the game late winning and advancing to the Region 8A D1 championship game. Rabun County will take on Athens Academy Friday night. The following players from both teams had standout performances.    Millie is one of the very best players in her class in the state. She plays the game with passion, competes on every play, and leaves it all on the floor. I was happy to see her become more vocal in the late stages of a very close game. A big step for the freshman, but Southards has earned the respect of her teammates after an outstanding season. She plays with flare, fire, and a lot of skill. Millie has elite ball handing and quickness and plays much bigger than her size. She is very effective scoring the ball inside and on the break as well as shooting the ball from 12-15 feet and behind the three point line. Millie is already on the radar of several high division one schools and could elevate herself into a Power Four recruit over the next three years.     Adelyn scored in critical moments for Rabun County helping keep the game close throughout. Thompson is one of the best shooters in the state and she played very well off the ball with Southards and Owens running the point. Adelyn is constantly moving, and with a purpose, running off screens to get the ball in positions to shoot and score. She is a strong player physically who is more than capable of running the point herself and scoring in the paint. Adelyn is already a very experienced varsity player and has the ability to get 20 points on any given night, something the Lady Wildcats will need in the rest of the season.     Addy Beth is about as steady and reliable a guard as you will find in North Georgia. AB quietly goes about her business on the court to great effect, but it was nice to see her show some emotion after making a huge three to beat the buzzer at the end of the third quarter. Owens play great defense, rebounds really well for her size, and run's the Rabun County offense with command. She stepped up huge late in this game and made some critically important shots from three for her team. Owens finished as the game's leading scorer with 20 points, many of which came late when the game was on the line. Owens play, along with Southards and Thompson, could take this team very deep in the state playoffs.     Belcher had two games in the tournament with solid, consistent play in the post for Elbert County. Belcher rebounds the ball well and had some highlight blocks, sending one out of bounds quick against Rabun on the fast break. Belcher used her soft hands and quick feet to catch the ball in traffic and score quickly, as well as getting offensive rebounds and put backs for Elbert. She could be the "X" Factor in the state playoffs for the Lady Devils in the paint.     Turman plays with a lot of quickness and makes good decisions with the ball. The junior knows her role and plays it well- get the ball to her team's scorers, [player_tooltip player_id='876798' first='Audrey' last='Lunsford'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1757112' first='Aaliyah' last='Allen'], and score the ball herself when the opportunity presents itself. Turman made shots from three and the midrange in the two games I watched. Tiyah also did a great job pushing the ball out on the break in transition and kicking the ball ahead to open teammates for easy scores. Turman played very good defense, pestering the ball handlers from Commerce and Rabun County.

There is an old saying "Third times the charm", and in basketball terms you hear people say "it's hard to beat a good team three times". Both adages turned out to be correct on Wednesday night at Piedmont College, as Rabun County's guards took over the game late winning and advancing to the Region 8A D1 championship game. Rabun County will take on Athens Academy Friday night. The following players from both teams had standout performances.