Rebel’s clip Eagle’s wings

Saturday night, the Lady Rebels took on Hiwassee Dam in their first game of the three day Thanksgiving Tournament being held at Fannin County High School. The Rebels had just come from a big 72-24 win against the Southeast Whitfield Raiders and hoped to continue the trend.

Senior, Morgan Holt, was the one to jump for the ball at the start of the game to earn Fannin possession. The Lady Eagles wasted no time putting numbers on the board as they threw to their post down low to give them a 2-0 lead. Abby Ledford answered this call by banking a 3 point shot to give Fannin a one point lead. After Hiwassee made another basket from down low, Saidee Collins tied up the game 4-4 with a made foul shot. Just when the Eagles thought they could get ahead with a three point shot, Becca Ledford showed off her skill as she banked one for herself and tied the game 7-7. However, Ledford gave Fannin the advantage by drawing a foul and making both of her shots to put the Rebels ahead 9-7. The Eagles were able to tie up the game one last time before Fannin ran away with it. Abby Ledford was the one to make a 3 point shot to put the Rebels ahead 12-9 and they never looked back. Holt followed the trend as she made a 3 pointer right after, just for Abby to do it again! The two Rebels were on fire above the key. Ledford led Fannin in scoring for the night with 17 points overall, 15 of them being from made 3 point shots. Holt trailed right behind the junior as she contributed 10 points to the Rebel’s score, 6 of them being from 3 point shots. The Rebels seemed to earn most of their points from above the key while the Eagles mainly threw inside to their posts for theirs. With Hiwassee following right behind, the Rebels ended the first quarter with an 18-14 lead over the Eagles. 

Holt was able to draw a foul to start the second quarter where she made both of her foul shots, putting the score at 20-16. Becca Ledford was the next Rebel to get her hands on the ball as she drove right past the Eagle’s defense for a layup. The starting point guard earned 12 points overall for the night. Olivia Sisson began to make herself known in the game as she added 10 points to Fannin’s score with her moves and rebounds on the block. Sophomore, Reagan York, got after it as she drew fouls and contributed five points to Fannin’s score for the night, all being from foul shots. Natalie Thomas earned four points for the Rebels for the night, but ended the first half with a three point shot to put the Lady Rebels ahead 34-25.

Fannin did a great job passing the ball around the key in the first half. They were able to drive the defense in as they passed the ball outside to get open shots. However, to start the second half, the Rebels tried a different approach. Fannin started playing fast as they would get ahead of the Eagles and have great passes up the court to drive in for layups. Mackenzie Johnson showed off her speed as she beat everyone up the court to score a layup for Fannin. Prisila Bautista followed the trend as she had grit on defense to get the ball back and ended up contributing 6 points to the Rebels score. With Fannin’s drives, they were able to extend their lead 51-34 to end the third quarter. 

Senior, Saidee Collins continued her great night from the block as she added 4 points to Fannin’s score for the night. Paige Forsman followed Collins’ lead as the drew fouls from the post and added a foul shot to the Rebel’s score. Jenna Young had a great night for Fannin as she earned steals and put the ball into action. With Fannin’s new method of scoring earning them more points, Hiwassee continued to throw inside to their posts to score. As the clock ran out, the Lady Rebels found themselves with a 70-47 victory over the Lady Eagles. 

Fannin’s win puts their overall record at 2-1. Catch the Lady Rebel’s next game tonight at 6 at Fannin County High School as they take on Pickens in the second day of the Thanksgiving Tournament.