OAKWOOD — Flowery Branch’s Jessica Hart finished with a game-high 16 points to lead her No. 2-seeded Lady Falcons to a 62-36 win over No. 7-seeded Lakeview on Friday night in the first round of the Jackson EMC Lanierland Basketball Tournament.

A 3-pointer by senior shooting guard Molly May gave Flowery Branch an early 7-4 lead.

Lakeview would quickly come back, however, tying it at seven. It would be as close as the Lady Lions would get for the remainder of the night. Flowery Branch, led by Hart’s six late-first quarter points, finished the first quarter on a 9-3 run and continued extending its lead in the second quarter.

The Lady Falcons went into the half with a 16-point lead after ending the second quarter on a 10-1 run sparked by two 3-pointers from May and junior forward Clare Tyler. May finished the game with 14 points.

Flowery Branch put the game out of reach at the beginning of the second half, opening with a 6-0 run thanks to layups from Hart and junior forward Tangie Moss. Moss finished the game with 11 points. Lakeview was led by Louisa Jacobs, who had 10 points on the night.

Flowery Branch next faces the winner of today’s East Hall-Chesatee match up next Friday at East Hall High, while Lakeview faces West Hall in the consolation round Tuesday at East Hall High.

North Hall 40,
Johnson 30

North Hall senior forward Letiecia Davenport led the Lady Trojans (3-1) with 19 points and seven rebounds in the first round of the 48th annual Lanierland Basketball Tournament.

"This first win was a big one," North Hall coach Debbie Blake said. "If you win the first one, then you’re guaranteed all 25 games this year, and that is what we wanted to do."

North Hall recovered from an 18-13 deficit at the intermission, and outscored the Lady Spartans (3-4) 16-9 in the third quarter.

According to Blake, the No. 4 seed Lady Trojans were able to overcome West Hall’s early lead thanks to an array of defensive adjustments.

"We wanted to switch up into the full-court press," Blake added. "Letiecia played better defense in the second half on Jayla (Moon), and that really helped us out."

Lady Trojans’ point guard Elizabeth Williams added five points, five assists and six steals, while Anna Porras finished with five points and six rebounds.

Junior forward Jayla Moon led No. 5 seed West Hall with 16 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Kim Smigelsky added seven points, and Tiffany Black finished with six.

The Lady Trojans advance to the second round to face the Gainesville/Johnson winner at 7 p.m. Friday.