Mary Persons unable to stay with Baldwin

FORSYTH -- A huge late-second quarter run sparked Baldwin to a 56-32 win against Mary Persons on Monday in the first round of the GHSA Region 2-AAAA Tournament. The Braves advance to Thursday's semifinals against West Laurens and have clinched a berth in the Class AAAA playoffs. The tournament is being hosted by Mary Persons.

An upset-minded Mary Persons (3-22) team trailed by nine points late in the first half. That, however, was before a 13-3 run to close out the final three minutes of the half gave Baldwin a 28-9 lead that was more than adequate for the Braves (20-6) to advance to the next round.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Tykesìa Williams, Baldwin: By either making shots or attracting enough defensive pressure to draw fouls, Williams was at the heart of the Braves' offensive rhythm, scoring a team-high 14 points and draining Baldwin's only 3-pointer.

Bria Reeves, Baldwin: She had a steady night as she gave Mary Persons another scoring threat to account for, pouring in nine points.

Kver Shannon, Mary Persons: The guard was the bright spot for the Bulldogs, going on to score 17 points in a losing effort. Like her teammates, she kept chipping away even in the second half, scoring 13 points after halftime.

ALSO MONDAY NIGHT

Baldwin's opponent in Thursday's tournament semifinals will be West Laurens, a 67-40 winner over Upson-Lee. The Raiders were led by Dinah Jackson's 24 points. Vicketris Meadows led Upson-Lee with 15.

Howard will also play in the semifinals against top-seeded Veterans after a 48-35 win over Perry. Erica Moore's 20 points led the Huskies. Perry was led by K.K. Smith's 17-point effort than included four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

THEY SAID IT

Mary Persons head coach Kurt Greene on the end of the first half: "(Ralls) had just picked up her third, and she kind of had to quit playing, and I had to get her out. That little spread, we just didn't fight. They just drove the ball to the hole, and we just got out of the way. I was a little disappointed in that little two-minute span, and that kind of took us right out of it."

Greene on Baldwin: "They have a good basketball team. They're very athletic and do a lot of good stuff."

Greene on the second half: "I told that them that the one thing I was most proud of was that they had a chance to just quit and they didn't. We kept battling and playing hard."

WHAT'S NEXT?

Baldwin and Veterans play in Thursday's region semifinals at 4 p.m. Howard plays Veterans at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Both games wll be played at Mary Persons.

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 10:30 PM with the headline "Mary Persons unable to stay with Baldwin ."