By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

TYRONE – The LaGrange Lady Grangers secured a dramatic victory over Chapel Hill on Thursday to earn a shot at the championship.

Chapel Hill had a shot at the buzzer, but it missed, allowing LaGrange to walk away with a 55-53 victory in the semifinals of the Region 5-AAAA tournament.

At one point after losing three straight games, the Lady Grangers were 2-3 in the region, but they’ve won eight of nine since then, and now they’re one victory away from a region championship.

“The motto from the first day was, trust the process,” LaGrange coach Stephen Tuck said. “You’ve got to go through different things to learn how to win ballgames. Now we’re here.”

LaGrange had a double-digit lead in the second half, but Chapel Hill came charging back and had a chance to win it at the end.

“We started tightening up, and they started playing well,” Tuck said.

A Chapel Hill player missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won the game.

“Luckily she missed it, and we’re moving on,” Tuck said.

Shania Woodard led Troup with 19 points, and Aryan Dozier and Chnaireia Strozier added 17 points apiece.

Also on Thursday, the Troup Lady Tigers lost a heart-breaker to Sandy Creek, 44-40 in overtime.

The Lady Tigers had a 27-14 lead at the half, but they were outscored 30-13 in the second half and overtime.

Amber Gilbert led Troup with 10 points, and Kwyneshia Spence and Shaqoya Gilbert had eight points apiece.