The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850,
71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
229-649-6397
tjournal@windstream.net

By RICHARD HARRIS
(From the February 21, 2007 issue)
   A few months ago Coach David Wells asked the secretary of Region 5-AA for an unbiased prediction of how each team in the region would finish the season.

His own Marion County Lady Eagles were listed as a likely No. 9, with a best-case scenario of No. 7. For those who may not be familiar with the region, it’s comprised of a total of nine teams.
   By midseason, however, the “buzz” about MCHS had changed to “y’all better look out for Marion County.”
   Now, the Lady Eagles have secured their first winning record in years (currently 16-13) and performed well enough in the recent Region Tournament to earn a trip to the Class AA State Playoffs. The top four teams in each region qualify for “State” and MCHS finished third. They will travel to Greensboro this Friday, Feb. 23 to take on Green County, the No. 2 team from Region 8-AA. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
   “I told everybody we had a determined group of young ladies and not to count them out,” said Coach Wells. “They worked extremely hard from the first day of practice and kept their eyes on our goal of improving and making it to the playoffs.”
   If the Lady Eagles win this Friday, they will travel to Rome to play in the Northwest Georgia Trade Center against either Model or Avondale in the second round. All-in-all, there are now 32 teams left standing and with half being cut each round the Lady Eagles are five wins away from a state championship.
   They will face tough competition from the start. Green County didn’t lose a single game to the other teams in its region this year (until the region title game) and they have some really good athletes.
   The Lady Eagles got to the playoffs by defeating Lamar County in the first round of the Region Tournament, and then beating Heard County (see separate article). They then lost to Rutland, but beat Crawford County in the consolation game to finish third.
Rutland 56, MCHS 31
   Rutland, the region’s No. 1 seed, had a bye in the first and second rounds of the Region Tournament, advancing automatically to the semifinals where they met the Lady Eagles who had played two games already. Lamar won 56-31.
   “This was our third game in four nights and I think the fatigue factor set in and we sort of ran out of gas,” said Coach Wells.
   Jalaa Tullis led the team with 15 points. Other players who scored were: Robin Redding (6), Shyneice Durham (6), Laquashia Greene (2), and Kala Brightmon (2).

MCHS 49, Crawford 42
   The Lady Eagles then beat Crawford County by a score of 49-42, winning 3-of-4 games they played in the tournament.
   “We played one of our best games of the year, even though we didn’t shoot the ball as well as in some previous games,” said Coach Wells. “Our teamwork and desire pulled us through. I’m proud of the fact that we were