By Ross Johnson

Sports Writer

The Lady Grangers have one more shot.

With Monday’s 52-40 win over Shaw in the first round of the Region 2-AAA tournament, the LaGrange High girls’ basketball team will face cross-town rival Troup tonight on the Tigers’ home floor.

After losing both regular season match ups - including Friday’s 55-32 setback - the Lady Grangers need to be on the same page in order to upset the third-seeded Lady Tigers, according to La-Grange head coach Jan Jones.

“We’re fired up,” Jones said. “It’s anybody’s game. We’ve had games where we’ve all been on the same page, but it comes down to whoever shows up.”

The game against Shaw was decided in the final quarter.

The teams were tied at 32 heading into the fourth quarter, but LaGrange went on a 10-3 run to start the quarter and outscored Shaw 20-8 over the final eight minutes of play.

Terryuana Godwin led the Lady Grangers with 17 points, followed by Markia Dallas and Angel Penn with 12 each.

Arneshia Williams added eight, and LaGrange ended the Lady Raiders’ season at 4-21.

Jones thought the key to the game was her team’s ability to make free throws and easy layups.

LaGrange finished hitting 14 of 23 free throw attempts.

“We have to be able to make those gimmes,” Jones said. “A few shots didn’t fall (Shaw’s) way, but we were able to finish under the goal, and that was big.”

While Troup has defeated LaGrange both times this season, the Lady Grangers hadnt lost to their rivals in several years prior to 2009.

Jones thinks the game will be tough, but welcomes the fact that it’s on the road.

“We actually played better (at Troup) than we did at home,” Jones said. “We have to get in the mindset that they’re not a rival, it’s just one more game.”

A win over Troup would automatically qualify the Lady Grangers for the state tournament, which would be a remarkable achievement considering LaGrange’s 3-9 region record this season.

“It’s definitely motivation for them,” Jones said. “A few seniors have seen (the state tournament), but the rest don’t have a clue. We just have to take it one game, and even one possession at a time.”