For the first round of state playoffs, the Fannin Co. Lady Rebels traveled to Atlanta to take on the Westminster Wildcats last night, Feb. 14. Both teams fought hard until the end, but Fannin Co. was the one to come out on top with a 54-45 victory to move on to the second round of the state playoffs. 

Westminster got the ball from tipoff where they had trouble making their way to the basket. Fannin Co. had a solid defense where they earned rebounds and drove the ball to their basket for points. Saidee Collins was the first to put points on the board with a shot from the block to give Fannin Co. the early lead. Mackenzie Johnson continued the trend as she drove to the basket immediately after to put the score at 4-0. Johnson had a great night on defense as she got after the ball and was able to draw fouls and added a free throw to the Lady Rebels score. The Wildcats began to put the ball into action as they made 3-pointers to put points on the board. The Lady Rebels kept adding to their score and closed out the first quarter with a score of 13-8. 

As Westminster began to look inside to their posts for points, Fannin Co. did the same. The Lady Rebels passed around the key well as they had great looks inside to their posts. Olivia Sisson showed off her moves on the block as she added four points to Fannin Co.’s score. Becca Ledford was the one who led the Lady Rebels in scoring for the night with 19 points overall. Abby Ledford also showed off her hustle as she drove to the basket and added four points on the board for Fannin Co. to go into halftime with a 21-17 lead 

To start off the second half, Fannin Co. began to make their 3-point shots. Natalie Thomas was on fire above the key as she added 12 points to Fannin Co.’s score from four made 3-pointers. Reagan York continued the trend as she added 10 points on the board for the Lady Rebels, six of them being from made 3-point shots. Westminster began to make a comeback as they were able to make a 3-point shot to tie the game 31-31. Abby Ledford was able to sneak in and and make a wide open shot down low to get Fannin Co.’s lead back with a score of 33-31. Becca Ledford followed right behind as she made a layup to advance Fannin Co.’s lead and closed out the third quarter with a score of 35-33.

The Wildcats quickly tied the game back up to start off the fourth quarter and were able to take a 37-35 lead with made free throws. They continued to advance their lead until Reagan York made back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game 43-43. Natalie Thomas answered the call as she was able to make a 3-point shot of her own to put Fannin Co. ahead 46-43 for the Lady Rebels to keep adding onto to their score and advancing their lead. As the buzzer sounded, Fannin Co. found themselves with a 54-45 victory to move on to play in the second round.

When asking Becca Ledford about the team’s efforts this season, she stated, “We have put our heart and soul into this team and we no longer do this for ourselves. We do this for each other, our coach, our fans, and everyone who supports the Rebel Nation.”