Unaka came up short in a hard-fought battle Monday night.
The Lady Rangers fell 54-36 to North Greene in the Region 1-A semifinals at North Greene. With the loss, Unaka’s stellar season comes to a close.
It was a battle from the onset.
In the first quarter, Julie Simerly opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, but the Lady Huskies reeled off the next eight points to take an 8-3 lead midway through the quarter. Lyndie Ramsey knocked down a jumper to break the run and Tara Whitehead ended the quarter as the Lady Rangers trailed 12-8 after a quarter of play.
Macy Ensor hit a 3-pointer to pull Unaka back within one point to open the second quarter. North Greene, however, answered with an 8-0 run to take a double-digit lead.
Ramsey scored a jumper and free throw to break the NG run, but North Greene’s Sonya Wagner and Emily Britton ended the half with back-to-back points to give North Greene a 25-14 lead at the half.
After North Greene’s Shelby Davenport hit a 3-pointer to get things going in the third quarter, the Lady Rangers hit the gas.
Whitehead drained a 3-pointer, and Simerly added a 3-pointer of her own to keep the run going. Ensor and Kiki Forney added shots as Unaka quickly closed within three points before the midpoint of the half.
Ramsey and Ensor hit buckets to tie the game at 34-34 with 3:41 left in the quarter.
Davenport and the Lady Huskies answered with a quick 7-0 run to take a 41-34 lead into the final quarter.
The final quarter saw points hard to come for the Rangers as North Greene outscored UHS 13-2 in the frame to take the win.
Ramsey had 13 points to lead Unaka, while Ensor finished with nine points.
Simerly and Whitehead added six points apiece.
Brooklyn Anderson led North Greene with 14 points, while Davenport had 13 points.
The Lady Huskies advanced to Wednesday’s Region 1-A Championship game against the winner of the Cloudland-Hampton game on Wednesday night.
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