The #8-ranked Lady Indians took on #5-ranked Galloway at home in the Elite 8, and despite holding a comfortable early lead, they dropped the 55-43 final to end their season on Tuesday night.
TFS held the lead for much of the first half, going up by as many as 8 points before Galloway cut the deficit to one going into the break. Veronaye Charlton had the first 4 points for the Lady Indians, and later in the first, she and Denika Lightbourne had back-to-back baskets to take a 10-6 lead. Galloway charged back to tie the game at 12.
Charlton notched a layup and Haygen James a jumper to push it back up to 16-12, as Charlton finished with 8 points in the first quarter. TFS led 16-13 heading into the second. Molly Mitchell had 5 points in the quarter, including an early 3-pointer as part of a game-high 8-point lead for Tallulah. A 5-0 run for TFS go them ahead, though slowly Galloway inched back. A long scoring drought for the Lady Indians was finally ended on Mitchell’s bucket. TFS took a slim 27-26 lead into the break.
Right out of the break, Galloway came out with a different level of energy. An immediate 3-pointer game them a 28-27 lead, and though Lightbourne hit a trifecta to tie the game at 32 moments later, Galloway used a 19-2 run that spanned into the final quarter to take control of the game. By the end of the third, Galloway held a 49-34 lead after outscoring TFS 24-7 in the third.
Lightbourne and Charlton had a pair of quick back-to-back buckets in the fourth to pull it within 12, and the Lady Indians once got back to within 10 before Galloway put the game away. Lightbourne scored 13 of the Lady Indians’ 16 second half points. She closed with 21 points, giving her now 973 career points heading into her senior year.
Charlton closed with 13 points, 10 of which came in the first half. Mitchell had 5 points, and Kailyn Neal and James had 2 apiece. The Lady Indians finish the season with a 15-5 record and the school’s first-ever Elite 8 run.
