Lady Grangers drop a close one
Published 10:19 am Thursday, December 28, 2017
By Kevin Eckleberry
kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com
NEWNAN – The LaGrange Lady Grangers shrugged off an 11-point second-quarter to make a game of it, but it was North Clayton pulling away late for a 47-43 victory on the opening day of the Newnan holiday tournament.
The Lady Grangers trailed 20-9 early in the second quarter, but they fought back and were within four at the half.
It remained tight until midway through the fourth quarter when North Clayton was able to create some separation and secure the four-point win.
Chnaireia Strozier led the Lady Grangers with 16 points, and Chaquave’ayr Robinson added eight points, with six of those points coming in the second quarter.
Blair Herrod made two 3-pointers, both in the third quarter, and scored six points.
Early in the second quarter, LaGrange was struggling to stay within shouting distance of North Clayton.
North Clayton led 16-9 after the first quarter, and it quickly extended that lead to 11 moments into the second period.
The Lady Grangers needed a spark, and they got it from Strozier, who made back-to-back baskets within 30 seconds of each other to make it a 20-13 game.
The Lady Grangers kept coming, and when Robinson made a 3-pointer with 56 seconds left in the half, they were within two.
As the two teams headed to their respective locker rooms for the halftime break, North Clayton’s lead was 25-21.
LaGrange was down by three in the second half when Herrod made a 3-pointer to tie it, and she made another one from long distance a short time later to give her team a 29-28 lead with 5:17 to play in the third quarter.
The Lady Grangers led by as many as two points, but they trailed 34-32 heading to the fourth quarter.
LaGrange got as close as one early in the fourth quarter on a Kamelah Kelley basket, but North Clayton went on an 8-2 run to build a seven-point lead with 4:20 to play.
The Lady Grangers got as close as three on a Strozier basket with 1:02 to play, but they didn’t score again.
LaGrange will play again today at 4:30 p.m. against Hiram, and it will face Grayson on Friday at 9 a.m.
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