Nettes advance to Sweet 16
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports February 25, 2026
Jasper, Ga — The AAA Girls State Basketball Tournament began on Tuesday, February 24th as the Pickens Dragonettes, hosted the Upson-Lee Lady Knights. The Nettes, came into the tournament as the #6 seed. The Lady Knights, came into the tournament as the #27 seed. After a back and forth first quarter, the Nettes, were able to pull away to pick up the win, 68-39 to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Lady Knights, would get things started with a three by Ja’Kalah Holmes. Freshman Darbi Stanley, answered that with a three of her own to tie the game. After a bucket by Holmes, Stanley and Ellison Steinhauer, would give the Nettes the lead after back to back baskets. Holmes, carrying the Lady Knights early on, would hit her second three of the quarter to make it 8-7.
Jamiya Carthon, would then complete an and-1 play to put the Lady Knights up 11-7. Back to back buckets by Steinhauer, would tie the game at 11. Holmes, would hit her third three of the quarter to put the Lady Knights up 14-11. Reagan Ludington, would end the first quarter on a 6-0 run as she would hit a three, and then complete an and-1 play to make it 17-14 Nettes heading to the second quarter.
Bree Jewell, would open the scoring in the second quarter as her three would put the Nettes up 20-14. Back to back buckets from Kynzlee Harris and Shatavia King, would cut the lead down to 20-18. Stanley, would complete an and-1 play to make it 23-18. That would kick off a 13-0 run to end the first half as Tania Rivera, Stanley, and Steinhauer would contribute to the run. At the break, the Nettes were out in front, 33-18.
The Lady Knights, would get a basket from Lakyzhia Miller to open the second half. Rivera, would then hit three and then complete an and-1 play to make it 39-20. A three by Stanley, would add a three to make it 42-20. Jabria Riddle, would split a pair of free throws to end the run. Miller, would score her second basket of the quarter to cut the lead to 42-23. Stanley, would hit another three to make it 45-23.
Miller, leading her team in the third would hit a jumper to make it 45-25. Steinhauer, would then start a 9-0 run with 7 straight points. Freshman Khloe Pruett, would cap off the run with a layup to make it 54-25. A pair of free throws by Miller, would end the run and make it 54-27 heading to the fourth quarter.
Harris, would get the fourth quarter going with a bucket to make it 54-29. Skyler Lathem, would get into the score book with a corner three to make it 57-29. After a layup by Stanley, Carthon and Holmes, would answer with their own 5-0 run as the Nettes led it, 59-34. Pruett, would end the run with a pair of free throws. Pruett, would then be rewarded for running the floor as she would make a layup to give the Nettes a 63-34.
Ruby Flatt, would take advantage of a fast break opportunity and hit a three that had the home crowd on their feet. Riddle, would end the run with a three to make it 66-37. Elin Porio, would do a good job of getting an offensive rebound and finishing with a put back layup to make it 68-37. A late jumper by King, would give us a final score of 68-39.
Leading scorers for the Nettes:
Darbi Stanley: 19 points
Ellison Steinhauer: 17 points
Tania Rivera: 9 points
Reagan Ludington: 6 points
Khloe Pruett: 6 points
Ruby Flatt: 3 points
Bree Jewell: 3 points
Skyler Lathem: 3 points
Elin Porio: 2 points
The Nettes, will now await their Sweet 16 opponent. They will host the winner of the North Hall/Troup County match up. Troup County, hosts North Hall on Wednesday, February 25th. Stay tuned for updates on opponent, date, and time.
Nettes win region championship for second straight year
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports February 20, 2026
Gainesville, Ga — It was championship Friday as the Pickens Dragonettes, took on the GAC Lady Spartans for the 6-AAA Girls Region Championship on February 20th. The Nettes, came into the game as the #2 seed having beaten Dawson and White County. The Lady Spartans, came into the game as the #1 seed having beaten Johnson and North Hall. The Nettes, would hold off the Lady Spartans to pick up the win, 51-48, to capture their second straight region title.
The first quarter, was not kind to the Nettes. The Nettes, seemed to have a lid on the basket as they couldn’t get anything to fall and were held scoreless in the quarter. Luckily for the Nettes, the Lady Spartans, couldn’t find any consistency on offense as well as the Nettes defense limited the Lady Spartans to two field goals and a free throw. Heading to the second quarter, the Lady Spartans led the Nettes, 5-0.
Ellison Steinhauer, would finally get the Nettes on the board to start the second quarter as she would hit a three to make it 5-3. Onyekachi Ele-Oroko, would answer with a three and Milan Johnson would make her second basket to stretch the lead to 10-3. After a bucket by Reagan Ludington, Peyton Frazier and Steinhauer, would trade baskets as the Lady Spartans led it, 14-7.
Darbi Stanley, Tania Rivera, and Steinhauer, would combine to go on an 8-0 run to give the Nettes a 15-14 lead. After a basket by Johnson, Steinhauer, would beat the first half buzzer with a three to give the Nettes an 18-17 lead at the break.
A bucket by Frazier, would give the Lady Spartans the lead to begin the second half. Dru Jeckewicz, would then split a pair of free throws to make it 20-18. A turnaround jumper by Steinhauer, would tie the game at 20. Steinhauer, would then cash in on a steal as she would lay it in to make it 22-20 Nettes. Johnson, would tie the game at 22 after a pair of free throws.
A three by Jeckewicz, would put the Lady Spartans up, 25-22. Johnson, would then pick off a pass attempt and take it all the way for the lay-in to make it 27-22. A three by Tania Rivera, would cut the lead to 27-25. Kayden David, would answer with a three of her own to make it 30-25. A free throw line jumper by Lizzy Hathaway, would stretch the lead out to 32-25.
Steinhauer, would create space with a spin move and get the jumper to fall to make it 32-27. David, would get a floater to go after an offensive rebound to once again make it a 7 point game. A three by Stanley, would cut the lead down to 4. Jermani Govan, would extend the lead to 6 after a layup. Rivera and Stanley, would end the third quarter with back to back threes to tie the game at 36 heading to the fourth quarter.
Steinhauer, would keep the three point streak going to start the fourth quarter as the Nettes led it, 39-36. After a basket by Johnson cut the lead to one, Rivera, would hit the fourth three in a row for the Nettes to put them up 42-38. Govan, would split a pair of free throws on two separate trips to make it 42-40. Ludington and Stanley, would then hit the fifth and sixth straight three for the Nettes to stretch the lead out to 48-40.
A 6-0 run by Govan and Jeckewicz, would trim the lead down to 48-46. Steinhauer, would make a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 50-46. A layup by Johnson, would once again cut the lead in half. Steinhauer, with less than three seconds left, would split a pair of free throws to make it 51-48. A last chance shot to tie it by the Lady Spartans would hit the top of the backboard and the Nettes would come away with the win, 51-48.
Scoring leaders for the Nettes:
Ellison Steinhauer: 22 points
Tania Rivera: 12 points
Darbi Stanley: 12 points
Reagan Ludington: 5 points
With the win, the Nettes, are guaranteed a top 8 seed in next week’s AAA Girls State Basketball Tournament. We will find out over the weekend what seed the Nettes will be and who they will host in the first round.