Darton women cruise into tournament finals

ALBANY — The Darton State Lady Cavaliers hung tough in the second half of their GCAA semifinal matchup against Georgia Highlands Friday evening and pulled out the 82-74 win.

The Lady Chargers got on the board first but Darton answered by scoring eight unanswered points in the opening minutes. The Lady Cavaliers maintained control of the lead for much of the half, but both teams struggled offensively, particularly from the free throw line.

At the end of the first half, Darton held a slight 28-26 lead thanks in large part to 2 of 9 free throw shooting by the Lady Chargers and their persistence on the boards. They out-rebounded Georgia Highlands 27-17 in the first half.

The Lady Chargers came out in the second and went to work inside the paint. They were able to draw several fouls on Darton’s bigs and in a stark contrast to the first half, knocked down most of their free throws. After sinking four straight, they took a 44-40 lead with about 14 minutes left.

The Lady Cavs answered with a 5-0 run of their own capped off by a steal by Shanea Armbrister which led to a lay up by Shae Fleullen. Darton got some breathing room late in the second after B’Kiya Webb knocked down a shot and drew a foul. She missed the free throw but still gave Darton a 66-59 lead they’d hold on to.

Darton head coach Lea Henry said her team made the decision to play better in the second half and reclaimed the lead.

“I just thought we toughened up,” she said. “I thought Shanea really stepped up and made some big shots for us and we started rebounding a little bit better and B’kiya got going and Shae got going. It was just a battle. I thought both teams played hard, but through the key stretches, it seemed like we scored more than they did.”

One key improvement from her team was ball control down the stretch.

“I thought we took care of the ball really well and executed our half-court offense well because Georgia Highlands runs a really good half-court defense,” she said. “But I thought we were tough and made baskets when we needed them, got stops when we needed them and I’m just proud of our kids because it was a battle and we were tough tonight.”

Armbrister finished with a game-high 41 points and 10 rebounds. Fleullen totaled 19, while Tyesha Smith chipped in with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Webb led the team in rebounding with 12.

They will face the winner of the Central Georgia Tech-South Georgia Tech game today at 2 p.m. Both teams have played them pretty close this season, but Henry said they’re still in the position they want to be in.

“We’re excited about being in the finals and we’re at home … It’s where were wanted to be,” she said “We know it’s gonna be another tough game, so we’re just gonna get some rest and try to prepare and come out and get ready for another tough, tough battle.”