Jasper, Ga — It was time for the Sweet 16 as the Pickens Dragonettes, battled the Calhoun Lady Jackets on Friday, February 21st. The Nettes, defeated Howard on Wednesday, while the Lady Jackets, upset Oconee County on Tuesday to advance to this game. The Nettes, would use a 28-14 second quarter to take the lead and pull away as they defeated the Lady Jackets, 74-55.

The Lady Jackets, would begin the scoring in the first quarter after a lob pass to Jaylan Moore ended in a layup. Ellison Steinhauer, would get the Nettes on the board as she split a pair of free throws. Sa’Niah Dorsey, would pick up her first points of night to stretch the lead to 4-1. A jumper by Bella Martin, would cut the lead to one. A three by Allie Duke, would make it 7-3 Lady Jackets.

A 5-0 run by Steinhauer and Martin, would give the Nettes their first lead of the game at 8-7. A three by Kat Atha, would give the Lady Jackets a 10-8 advantage. A basket by Ellie Hollis, would tie the game up at 10. A three by Dorsey, would put the Lady Jackets ahead, 13-10. A late bucket by Steinhauer, would trim the lead to one heading to the second quarter.

Brylee Deering, would put the Nettes in front with a three to start the scoring in the second quarter. A layup by Dorsey, would tie the game at 15. Hollis and Steinhauer, would then combine for a 4-0 run to make it 19-15 Nettes. Atha, would cut the lead in half after hitting a pair of free throws. After a timeout by the Lady Jackets, the Nettes, would go on an 8-0 run to stretch the lead out to 27-17. The run included two three pointers from Tania Rivera.

Dorsey, would end the run with a three to make it 27-20. After a basket by Martin, Dorsey, would hit another three to make it 29-23. Rivera, would drive in for a layup to make it 31-23. Reagan Ludington, would then add a three pointer to make it 34-23. Dorsey, would then split a pair of free throws. The Lady Jackets, would collect the offensive rebound, and Dorsey would connect on a three to make it 34-27.

Rivera and Ludington, would hit back to back threes as the Nettes would take a 40-27 lead over the Lady Jackets heading into the break.

Hollis and Ludington, would begin the second half by going on a 5-0 to make it 45-27. A layup by Moore, would end the run and cut the lead to 45-29. Dorsey, would then add a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 14. Steinhauer, would get the bucket and the foul on the other end. She would hit the free throw to make it 48-31. A layup by Mori Henderson, would make it 48-33.

A basket by Steinhauer, would push the lead back to 17. After Atha split a pair of free throws, Martin, would hit a three to make it 53-34. After a bucket by Henderson, Bree Jewell, would be at the right place at the right time as she grabbed the offensive rebound for the put back to make it 55-36. Steinhauer, would nail a jumper just before the buzzer to give the Nettes a 57-36 lead heading to the fourth.

Hollis, would open up the fourth quarter scoring with a three to make it 60-36. Henderson and Steinhauer, would then trade baskets as the Nettes led it, 62-38. Duke, would complete an and-1 play to cut the lead down to 62-41. That would kick off what would end up being a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 62-48. Steinhauer, would end the run by getting the hoop and the harm to make it 65-48.

Deering, would add a three pointer to make it 68-48. A three by Henderson, would cut the lead down to 68-51. After Steinhauer split a pair of free throws, Dorsey, would make a layup to cut the lead to 69-53. Steinhauer, after being fouled several times in a row, would make three total free throws to stretch the lead out to 72-53. Dorsey, would then make another layup to make it 72-55.

A pair of late free throws from Steinhauer, would seal the win for the Nettes as they advance with a 74-55 victory.

Leading scorers for the Nettes:

Ellison Steinhauer: 26 points

Bella Martin: 11 points

Tania Rivera: 11 points

Ellie Hollis: 9 points

Reagan Ludington: 9 points

Brylee Deering: 6 points

Bree Jewell: 2 points

The Nettes, will now turn their attention to the #8 seeded Jenkins Lady Warriors, who came from behind to beat the #9 seeded Jefferson Lady Dragons to advance to the Elite 8. No official date or time has been set for the game just yet, but it will either be played on Tuesday, or Wednesday of next week.