It took one year, less gas and some scary moments in the semifinals, but both the Rome High girls and boys basketball teams are back in the Region 7-AAAA championship games.
The No. 3-ranked Wolves and No. 7 Lady Wolves defended their home court during Friday’s semifinals after getting to the finals at Dalton High School last year and will host the first round of the state tournament next Friday and Saturday.
Rome’s girls edged out Dalton 35-32 to meet Northwest Whitfield tonight at 6 p.m. while the boys held off a stout Northwest squad 43-39 to play Dalton today at 8:30 p.m.
A shaky first half found the Wolves holding on to a 23-22 lead against the Bruins at the break after being up as much as nine in the second quarter.
“It looked like we were rusty,” Rome coach Keeth Jones said. “We made some boneheaded plays offensively, especially in the first half. We just forced too many things.”
The Wolves (20-3) came back and went on an 8-0 run in the third that helped them get a 32-29 lead heading into the fourth where they went up by seven in the opening minutes.
Northwest senior Blake Gash then got hot with a pair of 3’s that highlighted a 10-2 run for the Bruins, giving them the lead with 2:07 to play.
But Rome countered with their best performances of the night as they got the ball back, sent 6-foot-11 center Tony Woods to the inside for a lay-up and swamped Gash, leaving him unable to get off any offense.
“With 1:40 to go, they’re holding the ball and up one and we play great defense,” Jones said. “Then we went down and run a perfect play and we came back with an even better defense.”
Woods, the two-time Region 7-AAAA Player of the Year, then blocked a shot by Northwest’s Bradley Adams with seven seconds left and capped the game with a put-back dunk following a missed free-throw by Taurean Dallas with five seconds left.
Gash led all scorers with 21 points, including five 3s. Woods scored a team-high 13 for Rome while teammate T.J. Helton gave a strong effort to get 10.
“We were inept offensively but defensively we got it done,” Jones said. “We move on. We move on.”
Northwest Whitfield faces Ridgeland today at 1:30 p.m. in the boys’ consolation finals.
In an often-awkward display of brute defense and physicality, the Lady Wolves and Dalton Lady Catamounts fought off each other for their 32-minute contest.
And in a game where every basket was huge in the moment, it was the one that didn’t go in that decided the outcome.
With Rome (23-3) steering ahead 35-32 in the final seconds of the game, Dalton’s Amanda Rector took a 3-point shot with three seconds left that bounced around the rim until finally falling back down as the buzzer sounded.
“That ball bounces one more time and it may be a different story,” Rome coach Kevin Strickland said. “But it didn’t and we get to play one more game.”
Shooting came at a premium in the third meeting between the two teams as Rome shot just 25 percent (11-of-44) from the floor while Dalton shot 26 percent (10-of-39).
“It was absolutely a defensive battle,” Strickland said. “I knew it was going to be in a way because they just want it so bad.”
Senior guard Tanisha Woodard attacked the inside for the Lady Wolves and finished with 12 steals and eight rebounds. Both Woodard and Candice Foster led the team with nine points.
“It was nerve-racking, but at the same time it was fun,” Woodard said. “This is my last time playing in the region tournament and it feels good to make it to the championship.”
Kevi Foster played tough under the basket and finished the game with six blocks while tying Woodard with a team-high eight rebounds.
The Lady Wolves were without All-Region selection Mauri Wells Friday as the sophomore was in surgery after she tore a ligament in her knee last week.
Dalton (20-7) was once again led by Liz Coffey, who made four 3s and finished with 18 points. They will face Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe today at 12 p.m. in the consolation finals.
*Dalton boys 63, Ridgeland 56*
Lemond Searles backed up his claim as one of the top players in the region as he scored 22 points and led the third-seeded Catamounts (14-10) to a win over No. 2 seed Ridgeland.
Kareem Hawkins had 15 points for the Catamounts while David White added 10. Ridgeland was paced by Mike Bowman’s 15.
*NW Whitfield girls 48, LFO 37*
A defensive standoff ended in the Lady Bruins’ favor with Northwest Whitfield taking control with a 15-6 third quarter.
Caitie Trew scored 12 for Northwest while teammate Bethany McArthur had 10.
Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe had three players reach double digits as Jasmain Carey (12), Natalie Collins (11) and Ashley McKenzie (10) paced the Lady Warriors.
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