The Pleasant Home Lady Eagles knocked the Florala Lady Wildcats out of playoff contention with a 56-36 victory in the first round of the 1A area 2 tournament in Brantley Tuesday night.

 

The Lady Wildcats jumped out front 14-11 by the end of the first period. Florala’s Bailey Rickett got the three-ball working early, and finished the first with 8 points. Shay Brook also had a hot hand, and had 6 points for the Lady Wildcats in the opening period,

 

River Baldwin and Cassidy Godwin each finished the first period with 4 points, and Johnnie Forehand had a 3-pointer for the Lady Eagles to keep the score close going into the second period.

 

The Lady Wildcats remained steady in the second period. Rickett found the bottom of the net on another 3-pointer, and Brooks connected on a pair of 3-pointers to give the Lady Wildcats a 25-21 lead going into halftime. Brooks ended the second period with 8 points.

 

In the second period, the Lady Eagles leading scorer was Godwin with 4 points, including a 2-for-2 trip to the free throw line. Camille Holley connected on a 3-pointer, and Forehand added 2 points. Jade Self finished the second period with 1 point.

 

The Lady Eagles came out in the third period, and asserted their dominance on the Lady Wildcats. Godwin continued her stellar performance with 8 points in the third. Self also had 8 points to give the Lady Eagles a 41-28 lead heading into the fourth period.

 

Florala’s Rickett was held in check by the tenacious Lady Eagles’ defense, but did hit a 3-pointer for the Lady Wildcats’ only points in the third period.

 

The Lady Eagles continued their second half dominance by outscoring the Lady Wildcats 15-8 in the final period for the 56-36 first round victory.  It was once again Godwin, who led the Lady Eagles in the final period with 5 points. Self and Baldwin each finished the final frame with 4 points. Forehand added 2 points on a pair of free throws.

 

Brooks led the Lady Wildcats with 5 points in the final period, including hitting her fifth 3-pointer of the contest. Rickett also connected with her fifth 3-pointer of the contest, and finished the fourth with 3 points.

 

Brooks led the Lady Wildcats with 19 points, and Rickett finished the game with 17 points.

 

Godwin led the Lady Eagles with 21 points. Self totaled 13 points on the night, and Baldwin tacked on 10 points for the Lady Eagles.

 

“I’ve been doing this for 40 years, and the first game of the area tournament is always scary,” Lady Eagles’ head coach Jerry Davis said. “Florala shot the ball very well, and in the first half they just wanted it more than we did. We played great in the second half, and put ourselves in better positions to make shots. We had some different girls step up tonight, and they played very well. Florala’s defense took Jade (Self) out of it the first half, but she stayed patient and didn’t get frustrated. There at the end she was the one that got us clicking. Florala had a heck of a game plan, but we did enough to get through. Now, at least we know we are in a sub-regional game, but we will have to wait until Friday to see if we will host it or travel.”

 

With the win, the Lady Eagles move into the 1A Area 2 championship game Friday at 4:30 against Brantley.