ADEL — Pierce County’s quest for automatic berths into the Class AA state tournament ended here Wednesday with both the Lady Bears and Bears falling in the Region 3 semifinals at Crisp County High School.
The fourth-seed Lady Bears (7-17) dropped a 40--26 decision to top-seed Appling County (16-10), who won its sixth straight game to reach the finals against second-seed Tattnall County.
The Lady Pirates’ victory was their fifth straight over PCHS during the last two seasons. Pierce County dominated the series from 2013-24 winning 22 of 24 encounters.
The fourth-seed Bears (6-18), who have dropped 15 of 18 since a three-game winning streak early in the season, nearly shocked the state before losing 59-56 to top-seed Crisp County (23-3), who extended its winning streak to 14 games.
The Cougars swept the regular season matchups posting a 62-53 road victory in the January 2 tilt and rolling 73-41 at home January 23.
Appling County ..................40 Lady Bears .........................26 The Lady Pirates doubled up PCHS over the final eight minutes to pull away from a five-point advantage.
Neither team bucketed a threepoint shot. Pierce County finished 10-of-24 from the foul line while the Lady Pirates were 10-of-19.
The Lady Bears played Appling County even in the second and third quarters after falling behind 11-6 in the opening stanza. Both teams struggled with turnovers and shooting woes during the second period. Each team made just two field goals scoring four points apiece and head to the locker room with the Lady Pirates in front 15-10.
The two schools each scored seven points in the third stanza with Appling County holding a 22-17 lead. The Lady Pirates used an 18-9 scoring advantage in the final period to pull away.
Claire Murray scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Lady Bears. Jesslyn Moore netted four points with Layla Chandel and Kamil Strickland chipping in two points each.
Kylaiyah Smith paced Appling County with 15 points including nine in the fourth quarter. Madison Jones contributed 13 points.
Crisp County ......................59 Bears..................................56 Crisp County overcame a onepoint halftime deficit escaping the upset bid of the Bears.
PCHS had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds down 5756 and shooting the back end of a two-shot foul after making the first. The Cougars corralled the rebound and made two free throws for the final margin.
The Bears, playing inspired ball despite missing a stater and their sixth-man, were able to get out to a 15-10 first quarter lead. Crisp County followed with a 19-15 scoring advantage in the second period to get to within 30-29.
The Cougars continued to outpace PCHS during the third stanza using an 18-12 scoring advantage to grab a 47-42 lead. Pierce County outscored the Cougars 14-12 in the last eight minutes for the final margin.
Jamil Strickland (three treys) scored a career-high and game-high 23 points to lead the Bears. Nigel Brown (trey) bagged 15 points.
Shavez Warren and DeMontre Clark (trey) contributed six points and five points respectively. D.J. Moody netted four points with Amir McKenzie chipping in three points.
Crisp County received 22 points from Caden Lofton (two treys) and 19 points from Courtney Oliver (three treys), who scored 16 over the middle two periods.
