No. 1-ranked Dawson County girls win Mistletoe Madness

The Dawson County girls are one of the most familiar sights in the Class AAA playoffs each year. This should be no exception. In fact, the Tigers were ranked No. 1 in the state when the first poll was released last week.

Coach Steve Sweat’s team is off to another good start. The Tigers are 12-0 and have already taken the lead in Region 7-AAA with wins over Banks County . This team has the ability and the experience to make another deep playoff run.

"Our kids have played together for a long time," Sweat said. "All of them are in the 11th or 12th grade and of them have three years of varsity experience. It's the most experienced team we've had."

On Tuesday the Tigers beat Chestatee 61-38 to win the Mistletoe Madness tournament at North Murray High in Chatsworth.

The Tigers are led by seniors Sheyenne Seabolt and Ashley Parker and junior Karlie Bearden, the team’s three most experienced players.

Seabolt had 19 in the championship game of the Mistletoe tournament and was named the MVP. Bearden was also named to the all-tournament team. Parker  scored her 1,000th career point in a tournament win over Dalton in the tournament semifinals.

Here is a link to Parker's 1,000th career point, courtesy of North Georgia SportsLink.

The other starters are senior Jordan Moore and junior Haley Burgess, who have emerged as the team’s confident point guard.

Dawson County is a good shooting team from the perimeter. All five starters can shoot the 3. “And I let them shoot the 3,” Sweat said.

The experience of the team has shown up in a couple of different places, particularly at the end of the game when the situations get tight. The Tigers won one game with 1.2 seconds remaining and in another game hit two free throws with 10.3 seconds to produce a four-point victory.

“That experience has come in handy at the end of the game,” Sweat said.

Also telling is the team’s production in the fourth quarter. Their highest point totals have come in the final period.