Class 7A girls: Norcross 60, Tift County 57

In the second round of the Class 7A playoffs on Saturday, the Norcross Blue Devils opened each half with double-digit scoring runs, and both proved just enough to fend off the Tift County Blue Devils 60-57 at home.

Now Norcross (23-5), a No. 1 seed from Region 7, will take on top-ranked Brookwood, the No. 1 seed from Region 4, in the quarterfinals. Per the GHSA’s universal coin toss for when like-seeded teams meet, the game will be played at Brookwood on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Brookwood (23-4) defeated Peachtree Ridge 48-39 in its second-round matchup on Friday.

Norcross scored the game’s first 16 points and pushed its lead to 19-4 in the first quarter. Seniors Zaria Hurston and LaNiya Kenon scored 17 during that stretch. However, unranked Tift County — a No. 2 seed from Region 1 — outscored Norcross 15-7 in the second quarter and cut the lead to 26-22 before trailing 29-22 at halftime.

Norcross opened the second half on a 13-2 run and built its lead back up to 50-33 after three quarters. Hurston’s eight points led the way.

Tift County, as it did in the first half, again rallied. Its full-court press was effective in rattling Norcross into committing turnovers and other miscues. Tift County took advantage in transition, scoring easy buckets or from the 3-point line, where it hit four in the fourth quarter and nine for the game.

D’Iantis Office’s 3-pointer with 36 seconds cut Norcross’ lead to its smallest of the game, 58-57 with 36 seconds left.

It was the last points from a rally that nearly put Tift County into the next round.

“I think in the second half, (Tift County) went into their (full-court press),” Norcross coach Ashley Clanton said. “We haven’t struggled with the press all season, but I think the level (Tift County was) playing it was a little different for our girls. So, understanding spacing on our part was a little bit of an issue for us, so once we were able to spread the ball around a little bit and put the ball over the top some, it opened things up for us a little.”

On Norcross’ next possession, Tift County fouled and Norcross missed the first of a one-and-one. Hurst — a 6-foot wing — pulled down the offensive rebound, got fouled on the put-back and hit two free throws to bring the score to its final margin with 20.4 seconds left. On the game’s final possession, Tift County attempted a highly-contested and rushed 3-pointer at the buzzer that missed rim as time expired.

Hurst finished with a game-high 27 points on 12-for-20 shooting, adding 10 rebounds.

“(Hurst) is always very impactful for us because of her athleticism and the fact that she can go up and get a ball,” Clanton said. “She’s just a very dynamic kid.”