The Lakeview Academy girls fell to George Walton Academy 57-48 in the Region 8-A semifinals on Friday at Lakeview Academy.

Senior Kelsey Gilbert scored 25 points for the Lady Lions, who fell to the top team from the South subregion and will play the loser of Towns County/Athens Academy at 4 p.m. Saturday at Lakeview in the third-place game.

The Lady Bulldogs (16-6), who were led by Bre Atkism’s 17 points, will play the winner of the Towns County/Athens Academy game at 7 p.m. Saturday in the region championship game. Brooke Moon added 10 points for George Walton.

The North No. 2 Lady Lions (17-10) were down by 20 early in the third before making a run behind Gilbert, who scored 11 points during a 13-0 run to get within 47-40 with three minutes remaining in the game.

The Lady Bulldogs followed the run with a 6-0 spurt of their own to put the game out of reach, despite the best efforts of the Lady Lions, who outscored their opponent 21-14 in the final quarter.

Second-year Lakeview Academy coach John Carrick couldn’t find much fault in his team’s play after the loss.

“Our girls played as hard as they could possibly play,” Carrick said. “We just lost to a better, more athletic team.” 

Mona Abraham added nine points for the Lady Lions, who have already clinched a spot in the state playoffs a year after winning three games.