MACON -- Pace Academy is one of three teams in GHSA’s smallest class to stay within 20 points of three-time defending state champion Wesleyan. Now the Lady Knights get a second chance, and this time the state title will be on the line.
The Lady Knights (27-5) pulled away in the second half to beat Turner County 68-48 in the state semifinals Wednesday, earning a spot opposite Wesleyan in Saturday’s final.
Juniors Morgan Batey (29) and Haley Zwecker (27) combined for 56 points for Pace, which led all but the opening minute and won its sixth consecutive game.
Kadriana Howard scored 14 points and Keisha Cross 11 for Turner (24-7), the last public school left in the Class A playoffs.
For the Lady Knights, the state playoff run has been an unexpected ride. Pace needed overtime to beat Holy Innocents’ in the Region 5-A third-place game, then survived two overtimes to down St. Francis in the state quarterfinals.
“I knew we had a special team,” said Zwecker, “but I wouldn’t have said we’d be in the state championship. But if we play like we can play, I think we’ll have a shot.”
First, though, they had to get past Turner, which to the midway point of the third quarter seemed ready to answer every Pace run with one of its own. Howard was able to score from both the inside and the outside, and Cross converted rebounds into put-back baskets to keep the Lady Rebels close.
Pace (27-5), which posted a 10-0 run in the first quarter and an 11-3 stretch in the second. Turner County hung around, three times pulling within two points.
“We were letting them drive to the basket and not getting back-side rebounds,” said Pace coach Regina Tate, in her fourth season as the school’s head coach. “I told them at halftime we were going to go home crying if we didn’t turn that around.”
The last time the Lady Rebels had a chance to tie occurred midway through the third quarter, but a turnover led to a short jumper by Zwecker that pushed the lead to four.
Howard’s basket with two minutes left in the third quarter cut the Pace lead to 36-31, but the Lady Knights put the game out of reach with a 12-2 run, building a 46-31 cushion. Turner County, which never found a way to slow Batey and Zwecker, got no closer than 12 after that.
Afterward Tate faced the inevitable questions about facing off with Class A’s dominant team. She noted that when the two teams played Jan. 8 (a 56-37 Wesleyan victory), a lot of factors worked against her club in a game that was tight for a half before Wesleyan pulled away.
“We’re a lot more confident now,” Tate said. “We just need to have fun and compete. I want to see that team that played that good half for a whole game.”
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