Mark it down as yet another heartbreaking 70-60, overtime loss for the Lady Raiders, who are now 1-4 in region play.
This season has been a roller-coaster ride for Habersham Central, as it got off to a 12-3 start to the season heading into the Christmas break. The season since then has been full of heart-breaking losses for the girls, who are far better than their region record indicates.
Thursday evening was just the latest example. Habersham has played five games since the turn from 2016 to 2017. Five games in eight days, beginning January 12 against Gainesville. While at home, the Lady Raiders fell 62-57 against Gainesville to open 8-AAAAAA play. Despite a monster third quarter, Hab Central gave up too much in the second and fourth quarters.
The next day, again at home, the girls dropped another nail-biter, a 43-40 decision in favor of Dacula. Playing for the third time in as many days, Habersham finally wound up on the winning side of the close contests, securing a 51-50 win at Lanier. A common theme – a huge third quarter – this time proved to be just enough for the Lady Raiders.
After a couple of days off, Habersham was back at it on the home court against Winder-Barrow, but the girls fell 58-44, perhaps the only one so far that’s not been too close. Thursday night proved to be another dagger, however, as Lanier avenged its previous loss to Habersham with a 70-60 overtime win in Mt. Airy.
The Lady Raiders trailed 25-24 heading into the break after leading at the end of the first quarter 15-11. Habersham outscored Lanier 15-13 in the third, taking a 39-38 slim advantage into the final eight minutes. As luck would have it, working against Hab Central, Lanier won the fourth quarter 11-10, sending the game into overtime. The visitors had their biggest quarter in the overtime period, dropping 21 points in just four minutes for the 70-60 win.
For Habersham, it moves to 13-7 overall and 1-4 within the region. The Lady Raiders now sit in the fifth spot among six teams in the region. The top four advance to the state tournament, but all is not lost for Habersham. In fact, it holds its destiny in its own hands, as two games remain against an Apalachee team that has yet to win a region game and has only five wins on the season.
The Lady Raiders also have games remaining against Winder-Barrow, Gainesville and Dacula. Should the girls take care of business against Apalachee twice, and at least avenge their losses to Gainesville and Dacula, Habersham could improve to 5-4 in region, setting aside the date with Winder, who remains unbeaten in region play.
5-5 in region play is a goal that the girls can attain with some better luck and getting off to better starts and closing in the fourth quarter. With five games left on the regular season schedule, hope remains for the Lady Raiders to still punch a ticket to the state playoffs.
