The respective players of the year from Region 6-AAA and Region 8-AAA met in the first round of the state playoffs. Each one lived up to their billing, but it was Asia Durr of St. Pius whose team ended up advancing to the next round.
Durr, an all-state junior for the Golden Lions who was recently name the top player from Region 6, scored 30 points to lead No.-2 ranked St. Pius to a 52-49 win over North Oconee. The Titans nearly pulled off the upset thanks to a 30-point, 12-rebound night from senior Ginny Channell, the top player from Region 8.
“It was like two heavyweight fighters going at it and nobody would go down,” said St. Pius coach Kyle Snipes.
St. Pius (26-3) will meet East Hall, a 61-39 winner against North Murray, in the second round.
The outcome wasn’t determined until the final minute. North Oconee (19-10) trailed by 10 points, but took advantage of some critical turnovers by St. Pius and its inability to make free throws. The Titans narrowed the gap to 48-46 on a basket by Channell with 31.5 seconds left and cut the lead to two again on a pair of free throws by Abby DiFabio.
But each time North Oconee got within a basket, Durr would draw a foul and knock down a pair of free throws. The Titans cut the margin to three points when Amelia Dye made a free throw with 7.0 seconds left and had one last chance to tie, but DiFabio’s 3-pointer was short and St. Pius was able to hang on.
“Heart, intensity, character, pride … our effort was the difference tonight,” North Oconee coach Donnie Byrom said.
It was the type of game that Snipes expected. North Oconee was the No. 4 seed from Region 8, but spent half the year in the state rankings. The Titans were playing with a young team and missed step when DiFabio hurt her left hand, which remained bandaged on Friday.
“They’re a good team,” Snipes said. “I said all along that we had the toughest four seed in the tournament.”
St. Pius took control of the game early, as Durr converted two steals into layups and staked the Golden Lions to a 10-3 lead. North Oconee kept plugging away and closed the gap to 13-9 on a basket from Carmen Williams.
But Durr scored on consecutive baskets to spark a 10-2 run that enabled St. Pius to forge ahead 23-12. Pius led 25-15 at halftime, a margin which would have been larger if the Lions had been more accurate from the free-throw line. Pius was only 9-for-17 in the half.
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