It wasn’t the result the Lady Raiders wanted, but they fought hard in a home loss Friday night to Chestatee for the second time this season.
The 39-32 loss moves the girls to 5-2 on the year, with both losses coming against the Lady War Eagles. Three games ago, Hab Central lost in controversial fashion at Chestatee when a buzzer-beater to tie the game was eventually waved off.
This time, it was close yet again. Habersham got off to a slow start in the first quarter, trailing at one point 13-3 before Lainey Gosnell and Alley Parham started to bridge the gap. Freshman Heather Vaughan hit a three-pointer just before the buzzer to cut the deficit to 15-8 after the first.
The second quarter saw the Lady Raiders play exceptional defense, holding the Lady War Eagles to just one point and tying the game at 16 heading into the break.
However, Chestatee had the upper hand in the third, outscoring the Lady Raiders 11-2, including back-to-back three-pointers by Brooklyn Popham that gave the visitors the lead for good.
Habersham had a strong offensive fourth quarter, dropping in 14 points, but allowed 12 and couldn’t get closer than six points down the stretch. Habersham is now 5-2 on the season, while Chestatee remains unbeaten at 5-0.
Senior Lainey Gosnell closed with a game-high 17 points, putting her just 24 points from the school’s all-time scoring record, held by recent grad Haley Gerrin.
