Jasper, Ga — It was time for the Elite 8 in the GHSA AAA State Girls Basketball Tournament as the Pickens Dragonettes, battled the Jenkins Lady Warriors for a spot in the Final Four on Tuesday, February 25th. The Nettes, came into the game as the #1 seed overall in the tournament. The Lady Warriors, came in as the #8 seed as they won the region championship in region 3-AAA. A tough second half offensively for the Nettes, and some key defensive plays, helped the Lady Warriors pick up the win, 48-39.

The Lady Warriors, would get on the board first to start the game after a layup by Iycess Scott, made it 2-0. Ellison Steinhauer, would then go on a 5-0 run to give the Nettes a 5-2 lead. The Lady Warriors, would retake the lead after back to back buckets from Keara Jones and I’yarna Lee. Steinhauer and Aniyah Browner, would trade baskets to end the first quarter as the Nettes led 9-8 heading to the second quarter.

A layup by Lee, would give the Lady Warriors a one point advantage to begin the second quarter. A three by Bella Martin, would put the Nettes on top, 12-10. Lee and Jones, would then go on a 4-0 run to make it 14-12. Steinhauer and Reagan Ludington, would counter with a 4-0 run of their own to make it 16-14 Nettes. After a bucket by Lee tied the game at 16, Tania Rivera, would hit a three to make it 19-16.

A late basket by Lee, would cut the lead down to 19-18 as they headed into the break.

Ellie Hollis, would put the Nettes up by 3 after a layup to begin the second half. Steinhauer, would then get fouled while attempting a three. She would make all three free throws to extend the Nettes lead to 24-18. The Lady Warriors, would retake the lead after a 9-0 run to make it 27-24. Rivera, would split a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 27-25. After a bucket by Jones, Ludington would make a pair of free throws to cut the lead down to 29-27.

Steinhauer, would then tie the game at 29 after she made both of her foul shots. A late basket by Browner, would put the Lady Warriors on top, 31-29 heading to the fourth.

Back to back buckets from Browner, would extend the Lady Warriors lead to 35-29 to begin the fourth quarter. A three by Martin, would cut the lead in half. Lee and Taylor Young, would make back to back baskets to stretch the lead out to 39-32. A jumper by Martin, would cut the lead to 39-34. Young, would then split a pair of free throws.An offensive rebound, led to a three by Browner to make it 43-34.

After Aliyah Frazier split a pair of free throws, Steinhauer, would complete the and-1 play to cut the lead down to 44-37. Browner, would split her pair of free throws to make it 45-37. Browner, would then get the layup to go through contact as she would finish the and-1 play to make it 48-37. A jumper by Steinhauer as the buzzer sounded, would make it 48-39. Jenkins, would come away with the win.

Leading scorers for the Nettes:

Ellison Steinhauer: 21 points

Bella Martin: 8 points

Reagan Ludington: 4 points

Tania Rivera: 4 points

Ellie Hollis: 2 points

The Nettes, wrap up the 2024-2025 season with a record of 27-3, a regular season region championship, a post season region tournament championship, and an Elite 8 appearance. They went 13-1 at home, 8-1 on neutral floor, and 6-1 on the road.