Once again, the Lady Raiders had a hard-fought battle come down to the wire against Lanier.
Habersham Central (16-10; 3-7) advanced to the 6A State Playoffs with a thrilling 48-46 win over Lanier in the opening round of the Region 8-AAAAAA tournament. For the girls, it stands as a great accomplishment, as the team set out to make state this season.
After taking a 51-50 win over Lanier in mid-January, the Lady Raiders fell in heartbreaking fashion five days later in a 70-60 overtime loss at home in the rematch. Wednesday night’s region tournament game stayed true to form, as the two teams again battled until the final buzzer.
The 16 wins is the most for Habersham since the 2012-13 season, and the first trip to state since the 2011-12 season, in which they advanced to the Sweet 16.
The Lady Raiders also advance to the 8-AAAAAA semifinals, where they’ll take on #1-seeded Winder-Barrow on Friday night at Dacula High School. The Lady Raiders have been bested by Winder 58-44 and 66-49 in the two regular season meetings.
