ATLANTA – The Oconee County Lady Warriors used a big second quarter to propel them past the Johnson County Lady Knights 48-32 last Friday at Philips Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.

 “This was a lot of fun,” said head coach Cindy Roach. “When we walked in and seeing the huge arena was cool.”

By the midway point of the second quarter, each of the members of the Lady Warriors had gotten some playing time.

“The goal was to get everyone in, and they all did a good job,” Roach said. “This was a great experience for all of them and a perk for all of the long practices.”

Alex Wilson led the Lady Warriors with 13 points. Victoria Geisler had nine points, Anna Bergstrom had seven points, Gabrielle Bevillard had six points, Ali LaFayette and Darby Rogers each had four points, Hannah Vaughn and Brianna Dickens each had two points and Candace Conglose had one point.

“I’m glad everyone got to play,” Geisler said. “This was a once in a lifetime thing and it was good to win.”

The NBA court, which is 94 feet from baseline to baseline, is 10 feet longer than the court at the OCHS gym.

“It felt like I was running laps,” Geisler said. “(Walking in) was kind of intimidating and overwhelming and tiring because the court is so much larger. I air-balled quite a few in warm-ups when I lined up for shots that I thought were normal range but weren’t.”

Johnson took a 3-0 lead 1:39 into the game, but a basket by Wilson and a 3-pointer by Rogers gave the Lady Warriors a 5-3 lead. Johnson tied the game at 5-5 with 5:23 left in the first, but after a basket by Bevillard with 4:22 left in the quarter, the Lady Warriors never trailed again.

After leading 14-9 at the end of the first quarter, Johnson got an early basket to start the second quarter. They were the Lady Knights’ only points of the quarter, as the Lady Warriors went on a 14-0 run to take a 28-11 lead into halftime.

The Lady Warriors led by as many as 13 in the third quarter before closing out the game for the 16-point win. They did make just three of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter.

“Our free-throw shooting wasn’t good, but we were kind of relaxed by the end of the game,” Roach said. “There wasn’t really a rhythm to the game because we were subbing, but everyone got after it.”

The Warriors’ game against Johnson followed the girls’ game. After leading 5-3 midway into the first quarter, the Knights went on an 11-0 run to lead 14-5, but late 3-pointers by Byron Stufken and Mike DiFelice cut the deficit to 14-11 at the end of the first quarter.

The three-point deficit was the closest the Warriors came to the lead again, as Johnson went on to defeat the Warriors 69-40.

“Besides the game, it was a neat experience,” said head coach Michael Youngblood. “It was good for us to get here because it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. But it was a poor effort. That’s what is the most disappointing. I don’t know if it was because we were in awe of where we were playing or if we thought we could just walk on the floor and win, but our effort was not there from the start to the finish. In order for us to compete, our effort has to be at its highest point.”

Matt Moody had half of the Warriors’ 40 points. He hit seven 3-pointers, including one from NBA range at the end of the second quarter, and finished the game with 21 points.

“It was pretty exciting to play at Philips,” Moody said. “It is always a good opportunity to come to an NBA arena and play. I was a little nervous until I hit the first shot and then I was ready to go.”

The Knights took over the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Warriors 20-8 to build at 34-19 lead at halftime. They outscored the Warriors 22-11 in the third and 13-10 in the fourth.

Moody’s 21 points led the Warriors. Adam Frazier had seven points, Stufken had five points, DiFelice had three points, and Santonio Brown and Ben Frazier each had two points.

“Matt shot the ball well and that is his strong point,” Youngblood said. “He kept us in it.”

Last Tuesday at the OCHS gym, the Lady Warriors defeated Stephens County 52-42. LaFayette led the Lady Warriors with 12 points. Wilson had 10 points, Rogers had nine points and Dickens had eight points.

“This was a good region win for us,” Roach said. “We played well and we carried out our game plan. Ali played well and Darby did a good job handling their pressure.”

The Warriors also defeated Stephens County, 61-57. Stufken led the Warriors with 19 points. DiFelice had 16 points and Jack Howell had 11 points.

Matthew Caldwell is sports editor of The Oconee Leader. He can be reached by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at (706) 310-1104.

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