HARTWELL – The Callaway Lady Cavaliers couldn’t overcome a sluggish second quarter on the way to a 69-55 road loss to Hart County in the first round of the Class AAA state tournament.

Trailing by just four points after the first quarter, the Lady Cavaliers found themselves down by 17 points after giving up 25 points in the second period.

Callaway outscored Hart County in the second half, but the damage was done.

Hart County claimed a 69-55 victory to advance to the second round on Friday, while Callaway’s season came to a close.

“That second quarter killed us,” Callaway coach Deyano Martin said. “We had a lot of turnovers, and they hit a few shots. It just kind of got out of hand in the second quarter. One thing led to another.”

Callaway got as close as 12 points in the second half, but it was unable to get the deficit into single digits.

“We made a run, we just couldn’t get any closer (than 12),” Martin said.

In her final high-school game, Callaway senior guard Tanesha Johnson scored 20 points.

Sophomore post player Chyna Cameron, who’ll be a centerpiece of next season’s Callaway team, added 14 points.

Callaway was in good shape after the first quarter trailing 12-8, but it was outscored 25-12 in the second period to fall behind 37-20 at the half.

Callaway played much better in the second half, outscoring Hart County 35-32, but it wasn’t enough.

Callaway, which finished third in the Region 5-AAA tournament after finishing second in the regular season, closed with an 11-11 record.

Reach Kevin Eckleberry at (706) 884-7311 or on Twitter @lagrangesports