Never count Hampton out.
The Lady Bulldogs erased a double-digit deficit to take a 52-43 victory over Northview Academy in the Region 1-A semifinals.
Hampton will now face South Greene in the Region 1-A title game on Wednesday.
In the other semifinal, Cloudland was unable to shake off a slow start as South Greene stormed to a 73-38 win to end the Lady ‘Landers season.
For the Lady Bulldogs, it was a battle from the opening tip.
The Lady Cougars took a 14-7 advantage in the first quarter – answering Hampton baskets from Alexus Grubbs and Megan Garland. The teams traded shots in the second quarter as the Lady Bulldogs closed the gap in the final seconds. Northview clung to a 22-19 lead at the half.
The Lady Cougars pushed the lead to double-digits over the third period before Shy Tuelle hit a bucket in the final seconds as Hampton trailed 38-30 entering the final quarter.
The fourth quarter, however, was all Hampton.
Garland scored three straight baskets for Hampton, and Kinzey Hill tied the game with 4:14 to play. Grubbs pushed Hampton into the lead as the HHS defense kept Northview off the scoreboard for nearly seven minutes in the frame.
That proved to be the winning difference.
Garland had 20 points all scorers, while Tuelle had 13 points. Grubbs recorded 12 points in the game.
For the Lady ‘Landers, they were unable to recover from a rough start.
South Greene opened the game to a 23-7 lead in the first quarter. Lisa Ellis hit two shots in the second quarter to jumpstart the CHS offense, but the Lady Rebels extended the lead to 38-19 at the half.
Ellis had 15 points, while Shian Strickland had 12 points for the Lady ‘Landers. DonRae Taylor had six points.
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