Lady Canes Add Two Region Wins

The Jasper County High School Lady Hurricanes racked up two 8AA region wins within the past week over the Oglethorpe Lady Patriots and the Banks County Lady Leopards.

The Lady Canes defeated Oglethorpe 51-28 Tuesday. on the road. Madison Abbott led the scoring with 24 points and earned three rebounds, and two steals. Alicia Tripp came up big with 15 rebounds and eight points. Alyssa Wilson added eight points and four rebounds. Mackenzie Tripp had four points, Mackenzie Abbott had three points, Bailey Jenkins and Makya West each had two points.

The away contest at Banks produced a 51-41 region victory for the squad. Madison Abbott led the team in points, rebounds and steals with 27, six, and six, respectively. M. Tripp added 11 points while Mackenzie Abbott added nine points and three rebounds. A. Tripp had two points and five rebounds with Wilson scoring two.

The contest started slow for the Lady Canes but resulted in a nice crescendo for the squad. Up by one point at the half, the Lady Leopards had a bit of a let down in the third quarter as no points were posted in contrast to the Lady Canes’ 13.

The varsity boys squad won a 78-77 squeaker over Oglethorpe Tuesday evening. Prior to Tuesday’s win, the Canes fell 68-61 to the reigning region champions of Banks County. It was a close contest with the team that boasts a 7-2 region record and 18-4 overall record.

Over the next week, the Hurricane squads will finish up their regular season with three region games and one non-conference competition in preparation for the region tournament which will begin Monday, Feb. 5. The top four competitors in each region will advance to the first round of state playoffs.

With Rabun, Social Circle and Putnam remaining on the 8-AA region front for the Hurricanes, at least two victories over these three teams would put the boys squad in a very good position for the region tourney and advancement beyond. Elbert (9-1 and 19-3) and Banks are tying up the top two seeds amongst the boys. After the win Tuesday, the Canes have a strong hold on the third seed in the region with Rabun and Putnam knocking on the door as Oglethorpe and Social Circle would need very strong surges to contend.

On the girls side of region action, Banks and Putnam are leading the charge as the Lady Canes battle Rabun and Elbert for a shot at a playoff appearance. The ladies would put themselves in a better position for region playoffs by holding off Rabun Friday as they make the road trip northbound.

The varsity squads will head to Rabun County Friday, Jan. 26 before returning home Saturday, Jan. 27 for Senior Night against Social Circle. Both will be region games with a 6 p.m. varsity tip off.