The Piedmont College women’s basketball team claimed the Great South Athletic Conference Tournament championship on Saturday with after claiming a 69-44 win over Agnes Scott College in the championship game in Montgomery, Ala.

The Lady Lions now await their destination in the NCAA Division-III tournament to be announced early this week.

Guard Shanice Wheeler led the Lady Lions (20-8) with 13 points, three assists and a pair of steals.

Junior forward Sada Wheeler, an East Hall grad, was 6 of 8 from the field to finish with 12 points and seven rebounds. Wheeler’s championship performance and a double-double in Friday night’s semifinal win earned the post player the 2010-11 GSAC Tournament MVP honor.

Senior Laura Simmons, a Johnson High grad, added eight points and three rebounds for the Lady Lions. This year’s crown gives her bookend championships in her career as she was a freshman on the 2007-08 GSAC championship team.

GEORGIA COLLEGE WOMEN 74, NORTH GEORGIA 59: The North Georgia women’s basketball team’s season slipped away in the second half , as Georgia College came from behind to take down the Lady Saints in Memorial Hall in Peach Belt Conference action.

The Bobcats (19-6, 11-6) swept the season series from the Lady Saints (15-13, 6-11). With the loss, the Lady Saints fell short of the fourth and final position in the upcoming Peach Belt Conference Tournament.

Seniors Meredith Montgomery and Chestatee graduate Tiffany Marlow tallied 17 points apiece to lead the Lady Saints, while Lindsey Moss finished with 12 points on a 7-for-7 shooting from the free throw line. Chimere Jordan led Georgia College with 28 points and seven rebounds.

The 3rd-ranked North Georgia softball team picked up two more wins on Saturday afternoon, topping 20th-ranked California (Pa.) 7-0, before blanking the University of Charleston 8-0 in five innings on the opening day of the Saints Invitational on the campus of Limestone College.

North Georgia continues their hot start to the season, improving to 15-2 overall on the year, while 20th-ranked California falls to 4-3 with a split on the day, and the University of Charleston falls to 1-6 on the year after dropping a pair of games.

GEORGIA COLLEGE MEN 68, NORTH GEORGIA 67: Clarence Tillman led the Saints (10-16, 7-10) with 24 points and eight rebounds, and Carl Taylor added 13 points on Saturday in Dahlonega. Robby Goldsmith added 12 points and four rebounds for North Georgia.

Softball

NORTH GEORGIA 7, CALIFORNIA (PA.) 0: Jessica Coan recorded 11 strike outs and allowed only one hit over six innings for the third-ranked Lady Saints (15-2) on Saturday in Gaffney, N.C. Ansley Williams and Hilary Cox each powered home runs for North Georgia.

NORTH GEORGIA 8, CHARLESTON 0: Krysten Connelly pitched a complete-game shutout in the second game on Saturday. Pilar Harden added a two-run home run for North Georgia. Williams had a solo home run for the Lady Saints.

Baseball

NORTH GEORGIA 6, UNC Pembroke 5: Terrell Jones’ bases loaded single in the top of the 10th inning allowed North Georgia (13-2, 9-3 Peach Belt Conference) to take the opening game of a doubleheader against UNC Pembroke on Saturday in Pembroke, N.C.

Game-one starting pitcher Blake Hobby went seven innings for the Saints, allowing only one-earned run as he held a 4-3 lead. North Georgia built a 4-0 lead with through six innings but the Braves battled back to tie the game, 5-5 with two runs in the bottom of the ninth.

The 7th-ranked Saints broke the scoreless game in the fourth inning when Jones scored off a Kenny Bellavance single. North Georgia added two more in the fifth when Jordan Erisman scored off a Troy Snitker fly out and a
Derek Hooper came home on single from Bellavance. In the sixth, Erisman ripped a double that was bobbled in the outfield, allowing Alan Fredrickson to score and extending the lead to 4-0.

UNC PEMBROKE 8, NORTH GEORGIA 2: In game two, the five errors by the Saints led to six unearned runs as North Georgia fell for only the second time this season. Starting pitcher Garrett Smith (1-1), allowed only one earned run, but fell behind 3-0 after two innings and suffered the loss.