With the region championship game on the line, Lake Oconee Academy senior Georgia Bosart just took over.
Bosart didn’t play much in the first half due to early foul trouble, but she took over in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. The 5-foot-9 guard was clutch in the final five moments for the Lady Titans.
Warren County led 50-45 with under six minutes left, which is when Bosart took matters into her own hands. The senior drove the lane and went to the foul line on four straight possessions, hitting 7-of-8 free throws.
Bosart once again hit two more free throws less than a minute later, extending LOA’s lead to 56-52. The Lady Devils nailed a 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left, but it wasn’t enough.
Bosart’s effort helped the Lady Titans win.
Brianna Glave hit another free throw to make it the 57-55 final before Warren County missed its last shot as the clock expired. After the Lady Devils’ shot banked off the rim, Glave and her teammates all celebrated with Bosart.
The win solidified Lake Oconee Academy as a No. 1 seed entering the postseason and its fourth-straight region title.
“I am just pumped. I am just super thrilled for these girls,” LOA head coach Savannah Soles said. “I think I said it earlier, nobody believed we would be here at the end of the season with what we graduated last year. Our players believed, especially our seniors. They wanted that four-peat badly and it showed tonight in how they played. We had some get into foul trouble early. Our main focus tonight was staying composed. We did that.”
Bosart quickly picked up two fouls, causing her to miss most of the first half. Her teammates held their own, though. The first half was back-and-forth, with the game tied 11-11 at the end of the opening period.
Warren County got up 16-11 quickly at the start of the second quarter, but LOA responded. Sophomore Ansleigh Padgett drove the lane and got a basket before senior Jane Monachello nailed a 3-pointer to tie it up.
A few minutes later, Bosart returned as Padgett buried a triple to take a 21-18 lead. The Lady Devils regained a one-point lead before Padgett hit two timely free throws to give LOA a 23-22 advantage at the half.
Bosart scored 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the third. Both triples put the Lady Titans back in the driver’s seat on separate occasions. Warren County still didn’t give up, only trailing 43-40 at the end of three.
Lady Devil guard Courtney Bray was unstoppable throughout the night, scoring a team-high 25 points. Two other players – Jailee Allen and Alecia Tucker – added a dozen points each but it just wasn’t enough.
Bosart posted a double-double, scoring 26 points, including 21 in the second half, and grabbing 12 rebounds. She was nearly perfect from the free throw line, nailing 12-of-13 attempts. Bosart also had four assists.
“I’m proud of her. She never got down on herself,” Soles said of Bosart. “Early when she got two fouls, she knew why I had to sit her. I could just see she was itching to get back in. And when she did get back in, I could tell she wanted to go off. Our other girls were able to keep the game even.
"That allowed me to keep her on the bench and not allow her to get into more foul trouble. It was game over when she got back in, though.”
Glave added 11 points, while Padgett had nine points. LOA had several other players contribute in other ways.
“When things weren’t necessarily going our way, we stayed composed,” Soles said. “As far as calls and shots went, our kids just played hard. At the end of the day, we came away with a very big win for our program.”
UPDATE: The No. 1 seed Lady Titans defeated No. 4 seed Twiggs County 59-27 on Tuesday night. They move on to the second round and will face No. 2 Christian Heritage, which defeated No. 3 seed Macon County by a score of 57-50.