Pope Ends East Paulding's Cinderella Run

For one half of play Tuesday, it looked like the Cinderella run of No. 11 seed East Paulding might continue to the state tournament. After knocking off North Paulding and Villa Rica in the region tournament's first two rounds, all the Lady Raiders had to do to punch their state tournament ticket was knock off 20-5 and Region 5-AAAA No. 3 seed Pope.

The No.11 seeded Lady Raiders hung around until halftime – they only trailed by seven – but Pope started the second half with a 12-0 run, a run that turned a once close game into an eventual 63-41 Lady Greyhound blowout.

Both coaches felt the first few minutes of the third quarter ended up being the difference in the game, "There was a moment early in the second half where we lost our way," East Paulding head coach Robert Benson said after the game. "We lost our way for about a minute and a half there and a good team like Pope steps on you when you do that."

East Paulding only trailed 35-28 at the break, but by the time the Lady Raiders scored their first bucket of the second half, they were down 47-31.

"At halftime I told the girls 'we need to take a deep breath and go back to playing our game," Pope coach Courtney Harris said. "And that's what they did, the girls came out and played the way they were supposed too."

Brady Boggs, Angela Davis and Andrea Brown each scored four points during the pivotal 12-0 run. The Lady Greyhounds outscored East Paulding 15-4 in the third quarter.

Pope had four players score in double digits including Davis, who was the game's high scorer with 18 points. Sophomore Andrea Brown added 13 while Taylor Schwan and Laura Beall each chipped in 12.

Tabria May led all East Paulding scorers with 10.

Thanks to the win, Pope has guaranteed themselves a spot in the AAAA state tournament, which begins next week. The Lady Greyhounds are in the big dance for the first time since 2007. 

Up next for Pope is a Friday region semifinal game against Chapel Hill. That game will be played at Kell High School and will tip off at 4 p.m. Chapel Hill won the two team's only regular season meeting back in January.

East Paulding will end their 2010-11 season with a final record of 9-18.