By Ross Johnson

Sports Writer

It was the perfect ending to a memorable regular season.

The Troup girls’ basketball team, which has finished at the bottom of the Region 2-AAA standings the past few years, defeated cross-town rival LaGrange for the second time this season and will likely be the No. 3 seed heading into the region tournament, which begins Monday.

The dominating 55-32 win over the Lady Grangers put a smile on each player’s face, and Troup head coach Caroline Sellers said that was what it was all about.

“They came to play,” said Sellers, whose team improved to 13-9 overall and 6-6 in region play. “They always want to prove themselves at their rivals’ place, and they did that tonight.”

No Lady Tiger player had seen even one victory over LaGrange prior to this season, and winning two in a row is icing on the cake.

“I can’t describe it,” said senior Pascale West, who will be playing basketball for Auburn University next season. “I’m just so proud of the team.”

It was a joyous celebration on the Troup sidelines as the seconds ticked away in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Tigers dominated from the start, outscoring LaGrange 28-16 in the first half and 19-7 in the third quarter.

Shamiya Brooks led Troup with 20 points, followed by Tanisha Jackson with 13 and West with eight.

For the Lady Grangers (8-14, 3-9), the loss capped a tough regular season.

LaGrange, the region’s No. 6 seed, will face No. 7-seed Shaw in the opening round on Monday.

Shaw and the Lady Grangers split the series this season.

Terryuana Godwin led LaGrange with 11 points, with Markia Dallas and Arneshia Williams adding six and four points, respectively.

Troup has yet to find out if it will be a third or fourth seed in the region tournament.

Because the Lady Tigers and Carver each have 6-6 records and split the head-to-head games, a tie-breaker exists that Sellers won’t know until a region meeting today.

“I don’t know the logistics of it,” Sellers said. “From people who were calculating (the tie-breakers), they think we will likely be the third seed. We’ll find out soon.”

Regardless of the seeding, just one win in the region tournament will guarantee Troup a berth in the state tournament, which is exciting for Sellers and the team.

“I don’t think (the team) understands what their hard work has accumulated to,” Sellers said. “They’ve done what I’ve asked them to do. I’m very proud.”