While the No. 10 Lady Blue Devils (21-5) were led offensively by Jordan Hill's 22 points and Kayleigh Medlin's 11 points, coach Kathy Matthews credited her squad's defense for the win.
"Defensively, I thought we played strong. Kalia [Johnson] played a really good game and Jamia both played well defensively. They were able to create some steals and [Bowdon] wasn't able to get going offensively. We held their leading scorer to eight points, which was huge," Matthews said.
Along with her defense, Kalia Johnson added nine points.
Bremen will now have to prepare for a 6 p.m. matchup against undefeated and No. 3 Kendrick at Spencer. The Lady Blue Devils dropped a 69-57 decision in the two teams' meeting on Jan. 19.
"Got to be able to break the press and handle their pressure without turning the basketball over. It's pretty much ball control, fundamental offense. Defensively, limit them to one shot and get rebounds," Matthews said.
Bowdon (14-9) will be playing for the No. 3 seed in the consolation game at 3 p.m. today against Manchester.
Villa Rica boys 59, Hiram 48: The Wildcats (18-10) have ensured at least one more home game this season with an 11-point win in the semifinals of the Region 5-AAAAA Tournament at Allatoona on Friday night.
VR jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and would carry a 22-19 edge into halftime before putting the game away in the second half. The Wildcats have turned things around and are playing their best basketball recently, partly due to work at the free-throw line. In the fourth quarter alone, Villa Rica was 15-for-20 from the charity stripe.
"We made free throws, which we've done the last couple of games. That's big for us. That's been our Achilles' heel for most of the season," VR coach Jason Robinson said. "Good defensive effort, total team effort. We played hard and as gutsy a defense as we have all year. Opened up with pressure and in the second half gave them a token press, tried to confuse them a little bit and it slowed them down."
Josh Lay's 19 points led VR, while Rodney Hill scored 12 and Marcus Miller used an 9-for-10 free-throw effort in the fourth for nine points. The Wildcats coach added that Kelvin Bonds and De'Shaun Dorsey had big nights on the boards, making up for a poor shooting percentage from the floor.
The Wildcats will now match up against either Allatoona or New Manchester in the region championship game. Robinson expects a good battle from either team, but the VR coach knows his team has already earned a first-round home playoff game where they can make up for a Senior Night setback.
"Either team is going to be difficult this far along in the region tournament. They're all good. You can't worry too much about what they do or the players they have. We've got to do what we do and play Villa Rica basketball and play like we're capable of playing," Robinson said. "We'll be hosting a first-round playoff game at Villa Rica. Potentially, the last home game ever."
Villa Rica girls 51, Paulding County 48: The time it mattered the most, the Lady Wildcats (21-7) did what they couldn't do in the first two meetings by defeating the Lady Patriots on Friday night at Allatoona in the Region 5-AAAAA Tournament semifinals.
VR was down by two at halftime, but outscored the Lady Patriots by five in the third quarter and held on for the win.
"It was a hard-fought game and we were just able to pull it off," VR coach James Bailey said.
Senior Rhianna Warren led the Lady Wildcats with 19 points while Kayland Crowder added nine points.
VR will now face Allatoona for the region title today at 6 p.m.
"It's been a real good season for my seniors. They've played hard and they're not ready to finish. We're playing as a good unit," Bailey said.
Callaway 44, Central 41 (OT): Not much went right for the Lady Lions (20-6) offensively, as they were upset in the Region 4-AAA Tournament semifinals by the Lady Cavs at Douglass High School on Friday afternoon in Atlanta.
Central scored just 15 points in the first half, but were able to come back, take a few one-point leads and force overtime. In the end, it was the Lady Cavaliers that took the game, forcing the Lady Lions into the consolation finals and on the road for the opening round of the Class AAA state playoffs.
"We couldn't do much in the first half. Just weren't shooting the ball very well," Central coach Jimmy LeBlanc said. "We battled back, were up by one here and there. Hit a 3 to tie it, got a stop and ran out of time trying to get down [the court] at the end of regulation. Then in overtime, we just weren't able to pull it out."
Sherae Bonner scored 19 points for Central, while Brianna Cousins added 12.
Now the Lady Lions have to regroup for a meeting with the hosts, Douglass, in the third-place game today at 3 p.m.
"I'm extremely disappointed, and I think I'm going to wear that more than anyone else. Hopefully, we'll be able to get rid of that. Odds say we're going to play Douglass at Douglass for third place and I don't want to be fourth," LeBlanc said. "I've seen [Region 1's] No. 2 and No. 4 and we can compete. If we're going to do anything, we're going to do it on the road."
Prep Tennis
Central girls 5, Temple 0: The Lady Lions (1-0) swept their first match of the season, getting 8-0 wins in four of the five matches.
In singles, Emily Startup, Sydney Stone and Denney Meigs all got 8-0 wins, while the pairing of Nicole Poncela and Emily Bush won, 8-0. Anna Schulenburg and Lauren Bush paired for an 8-1 win.
In two doubles exhibition matches, Cassie Griffin and Alyssa Paul won 8-0, as did Lindsey Pierce and Quinn Evans. Hali Gladden won 6-2 in a singles exhibition.
Central will continue its season Feb. 25 at Chapel Hill.
Central boys 1, Temple 0: In the lone boys match, Colton Swint won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles.
The boys will also travel to Chapel Hill on Feb. 25.
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