State tournament: Fayette Co. girls win thriller

The Fayette County girls fulfilled their end of the bargain Wednesday night with a breathtaking 43-41 victory against Jonesboro in the Class AAAA state semifinals at Gwinnett Arena.

The Tigers winning streak moved to 31, with the last loss to Southwest DeKalb in last season’s state finals.

The two teams will play again for the championship at 3 p.m. Friday. Southwest defeated Bainbridge in the other semifinal game.

“That’s an awesome thing for both teams to make it back,” Fayette County coach John Strickland said. “We went up on the high side this year, getting a lot of accolades and press early on. [Meanwhile] Southwest got their thing done.”

It wasn’t easy. Fayette County blew a 17-point lead as Jonesboro rallied to tie the game at 39 on Joi Holyfield’s short jumper with 3:39 left.

Fayette guard Tessah Holt, who has committed to Florida, scored 6 of her 8 points in the fourth quarter, including her team’s final two baskets of the game. Jonesboro missed two potential game-tying shots in the final seconds.

“In championship basketball, somewhere down the line, they all get tested,” Strickland said. “We appreciate the fact that we’re moving on to the [championship].”

Fayette’s Anma Onyeuku had a game-high 23 points. Jonesboro was led by Holyfield with 16 and Drameka Griggs with 15.