Nettes advance to 6-AAA Region Championship
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports February 20, 2026
Gainesville, Ga — It was Semifinal Thursday on February 19th as the Pickens Dragonettes, made the trip over to Chestatee High School to take on the White County Lady Warriors for a spot in the 6-AAA Region Championship. These two teams split their regular season meetings with the Lady Warriors holding the Nettes to a season-low 18 points in the last match up. In what was another defensive battle, the Nettes, were able to fend off a last second three to pick up a 38-35 win.
Freshman Darbi Stanley, would get the scoring going with a three to put the Nettes up early. After back to back baskets by Ella Kate Shedd and Kalynn Watkins, Stanley, would hit her second three of the game to make it 6-4. Zara Gosse, would go 3/4 from the free throw line to make it 7-6 Lady Warriors. Carleigh Hoffard, would split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 7 going into the second quarter.
Stanley and Ellison Steinhauer, would make back to back buckets to begin the second quarter to put the Nettes up 11-7. Shedd, would end the mini run with a layup to just the lead in half. A three by Tania Rivera, would stretch the lead out to 14-9. Watkins, and Gosse, would make back to back baskets to make it 14-13. A late three by Steinhauer, would give the Nettes a 17-13 lead at the halfway point.
After some back and forth to start the third quarter, the Nettes, would open up a 32-18 lead late in the frame. Anijah Moss, picked a good time to hit the first three of the game for the Lady Warriors as she would cut the lead to 32-21 heading to the fourth.
Steinhauer, would get things going in the fourth with a layup to make it 34-21. A second three by Moss, would make it a ten point game. After a jumper by Stanley, the Lady Warriors, would go on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 36-31. Stanley, who had the hot hand in this one, cooled down the run a little bit with a bucket to make it 38-31. Back to back baskets by Gosse and Watkins, would trim the lead to 38-35.
A missed three by the Nettes, would give the Lady Warriors the ball with a chance to tie it with a little over 8 seconds remaining. Moss, would throw up a desperation heave just before the buzzer, and it hit the side of the rim as the Nettes survived and advanced to the 6-AAA Region Championship.
Scoring leaders for the Nettes:
Darbi Stanley: 18 points
Ellison Steinhauer: 11 points
Tania Rivera: 5 points
Reagan Ludington: 3 points
Carleigh Hoffard: 1 point
The Nettes, will be back at Chestatee on Friday, February 20th as they take on the #1 seed GAC Lady Spartans for the 6-AAA Region Championship. These two teams split their regular season meetings with each team winning on their home floor. How will it play out at a neutral site? Tip off is set for 6 pm.
Dominant second half sends Nettes to region semifinals
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports February 18, 2026
Norcross, Ga — On Monday, February 16th, the Pickens Dragons, battled back to move past the Chestatee War Eagles to advance to the semifinals on the boys side. The Dragonettes, looked to punch their ticket to the girls semifinals on Tuesday, February 17th as they took on the Dawson Lady Tigers. It looked like the makings of another close game between the two after the first half, but the Nettes would take over and outscore the Lady Tigers 39-11 in the second half to pick up the win 64-31.
The Lady Tigers, would jump out to an early lead to start the game as Ava Roberson and Lilly Abbott, would combine to go on a 5-0 run. Darbi Stanley and Abbott, would then trade baskets as Dawson led it, 7-2. Skyler Lathem, Tania Rivera, and Ellison Steinhauer, would then combine for a 5-0 run to tie the game at 7. The Lady Tigers, would counter that run with another combined 5-0 run by Roberson and Abbott to make it 12-7.
A three pointer and a pair of free throws by Reagan Ludington, would tie the game up at 12. A late bucket by Abbott, would give the Lady Tigers a 14-12 lead heading to the second quarter.
Back to back baskets by Steinhauer, would open up the second quarter as the Nettes took a 16-14 lead. A bucket by Roberson, would tie the game at 16. A big momentum shifter came after Stanley, would hit a three as she was being fouled. Stanley, would make the free throw to give the Nettes a 20-16 advantage. Abbott and Roberson, doing the heavy lifting for the Lady Tigers, would tie the game after back to back baskets.
A combined 5-0 run by Ludington and Rivera to close out the first half, would give the Nettes a 25-20 lead over the Lady Tigers heading into the break.
Steinhauer, the 6-AAA Girls Region Player of the Year and North Georgia commit, would absolutely take over for the Nettes in the third quarter. Steinhauer, would begin the second half by going on an 8-0 run to stretch the lead out to 33-20. A layup by Abbott, would end the run and make it 33-22. Steinhauer and Stanley, would then go on a combined 8-0 run to make it 41-22.
Abbott, and Steinhauer, would then trade free throw makes to end the third quarter as the Nettes would take a 43-24 lead into the fourth.
Rivera, Ludington, and Stanley, would start the fourth quarter by going on a combined 10-0 run to make it 53-24. Abbott, would end the run by completing an and-1 play to cut the lead to 53-27. After a pair of free throws by Steinahuer, Carleigh Hoffard, would get a layup to go to make it 57-27. A three by Abbott, would cut the lead to 57-30. Khloe Pruitt and Stanley, would combine to go on a 5-0 run to make it 62-30.
After Roberson split a pair of free throws, Ludington, would end the scoring by making a pair of free throws as the Nettes would come away with a 64-31 win.
Scoring leaders for the Nettes:
Ellison Steinhauer: 23 points
Darbi Stanley: 15 points
Reagan Ludington: 11 points
Tania Rivera: 9 points
Carleigh Hoffard: 2 points
Skyler Lathem: 2 points
Khloe Pruitt: 2 points
With the win, the Nettes have advanced to the 6-AAA region semifinals where they will take on the White County Lady Warriors on Thursday, February 19th at Chestatee High School. These two teams split their regular season meetings. Tip off is set for 4 pm.
Nettes stay undefeated in region play
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports January 7, 2025
Gainesville, Ga — The Pickens Dragonettes, took to the road on Tuesday, January 7th as they took on the Johnson Lady Knights in 6-AAA action. Coming into the game, the Nettes, were 13-1 overall and leading the region with a 4-0 record. The Lady Knights, came into the game struggling as they were 0-11 on the season and 0-4 in region play. The younger players for the Nettes really shined in this one as Pickens took home a 70-15 win.
The Nettes, began the ball game by going on a 22-0 run. Reagan Ludington, Ellison Steinhauer, Brylee Deering, and Ellie Hollis all contributed to the run. Harbor Landers, would put an end to the run as she would get the Lady Knights on the board with a three. Heading to the second quarter, the Nettes led it, 22-3.
Emily Hernandez, would start the second quarter by making a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 22-5. The Nettes, would then go on a 7-0 run as Bella Martin would split a pair of free throws, and Deering, and Caleigh Hoffard would hit back to back three pointers to make it 29-5. A bucket by Karina Ordonez, would put an end to the run and make it 29-7.
After Landers would split a pair of free throws, the Nettes, would end the first half on a 13-0 run including a buzzer beating three pointer from Bree Jewell that hit every part of the basket before eventually going in. The Nettes, lead the Lady Knights, 42-8 at the break.
The Nettes, would begin the second half by continuing the run they were on to close out the first half as they scored another 8 straight points for a total run of 21-0 and stretch the lead out to 51-8. Hernandez, would end the run with a bucket. She would complete the and-1 play by hitting the free throw to make it 51-11. The Nettes, would end the third quarter with a 5-0 run as Tania Rivera and Jewell combined for the run. The Nettes led it, 56-11 after three.
The Nettes, started the shortened fourth quarter by going on a 14-0 run to make it 70-11. The Lady Knights, would close out the ball game on a 4-0 run as Ordonez would split a pair of free throws, and Landers would hit her second three of the game. The Nettes, would take this one, 70-15.
Leading scorers for the Nettes:
Ellison Steinhauer: 19 points
Ellie Hollis: 9 points
Bree Jewell: 8 points
Brylee Deering: 5 points
Reagan Ludington: 5 points
Skyler Lathem: 5 points
Tania Rivera: 5 points
Bella Martin: 4 points
Kylee Bozeman: 4 points
Teagan Deering: 3 points
Carleigh Hoffard: 3 points
With the possibility of inclement weather coming in on Friday, the home game between the Nettes and the GAC Lady Spartans, has been pushed up a day to Thursday, January 9th. Tip off is set for 6 pm.
Second half comeback helps Nettes stay unbeaten
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports December 14, 2024
Jasper, Ga — The Pickens Dragonettes, took on the North Hall Lady Trojans in the final home game of the 2024 portion of the schedule on Friday, December 13th. Both teams were coming off wins on Tuesday, December 10th. For the Nettes, a win would keep them in at least a tie for first place in 6-AAA with White County. After trailing by double-digits in the third quarter, the Nettes made a massive comeback to pick up an impressive 53-46 win.
The Lady Trojans, got the scoring started in the first quarter with a three by Lexi Jarrard. Bella Martin, would get the Nettes on the board with a jumper to cut the lead to 1. After a layup by Victoria Cape, the Nettes, would go on a 7-0 run as Martin would pour in five points, while Ellie Hollis would make a tough layup to give the Nettes a 9-5 lead. A three by Martha Vachtsevanos, would cut the lead to one.
Ellison Steinhauer, would get in on the scoring near the end of the first quarter as she would split a pair free throws to give the Nettes a 10-8 lead over the Lady Trojans heading to the second quarter.
The Lady Trojans, would begin the second quarter by going on a 7-0 run to take a 15-10 lead. A bucket by Martin, would cut the lead to 3. Both teams would then go back and forth as North Hall led it, 20-16. A 4-0 run by the Lady Trojans to end the first half, would give them a 24-16 lead at the break.
Steinhauer, would make her first field goal of the game to begin the second half to cut the lead to 24-18. After Lauren Hemmer and Steinhauer traded baskets, Vachtsevanos, would go on a 5-0 run to give the Lady Trojans a 31-20 lead. The Nettes, would answer by going on a 14-0 run to take a 34-31 lead. Hemmer, would end the run with a bucket to cut the lead to 1. Back to back threes from Caleigh Hoffard and Steinhauer, would give the Nettes a 40-33 lead heading to the fourth.
The fourth quarter would start with back to back baskets from Martin and Hollis to give the Nettes a 44-33 lead. A bucket by Vachtsevanos, would end the run and cut the lead to 9. A layup by Steinhauer, would bring the lead back to 11. The two teams would then trade three point baskets as the Nettes led it, 49-41. A basket by Steinhauer, would make it a 10 point game. Hemmer, would hit a three to cut the lead down to 7.
Martin, would step to the line and make a pair of free throws to give the Nettes a 53-44 lead. A late bucket by Maci Gillespie, would make it 53-46. The final from Jasper, Pickens 53 North Hall 46.
Leading scorers for the Nettes:
Ellison Steinhauer: 21 points
Bella Martin: 13 points
Bree Jewell: 6 points
Ellie Hollis: 4 points
Reagan Ludington: 4 points
Carleigh Hoffard: 3 points
Tania Rivera: 2 points
6-AAA Girls Basketball Standings:
Pickens: 7-0 (3-0)
White County: 8-2 (3-0)
Dawson County: 7-4 (2-1)
GAC: 7-3 (1-2)
Chestatee: 4-4 (1-2)
Lumpkin County: 4-4 (1-2)
North Hall: 4-4 (1-2)
Johnson, Gainesville: 0-8 (0-3)
The Nettes, will head into Holiday Tournament action for the rest of 2024 as they will participate in the War Lodge Invitational at Sequoyah High School on Friday, December 20th and Saturday, December 21st. First up for the Nettes, a match up against the Hiram Lady Hornets on Friday, December 20th. Tip off is set for 7:30 pm.