Christian Heritage hoops wins pair of region titles

Published 12:12 am Saturday, February 16, 2008

Christian Heritage’s girls basketball team added another accolade to an already impressive season on Friday, topping Arlington Christian 76-64 in the GISA Region 4-2A championship game in Fairburn.

After spending the past few years competing in the Tennessee Association of Christian Schools — a stretch that included winning a region title last season — the Lady Lions have rolled up a 24-2 mark this year since joining the Georgia Independent Schools Association.

Winning a title in a bigger, more competitive region this year meant a lot to the Lady Lions and Christian Heritage coach Heather Lowery.

“I think for our first year in GISA and us winning region and playing good as we’ve been playing and being so young (makes it even more impressive),” Lowery said. “I expected us to have a very good team. They have pretty much outweighed my expectations of them.”

Christian Heritage’s boys team also won in its Region 4-2A championship, beating Pinecrest 83-77 in triple overtime.

In the girls game, sophomore Caty Nagel had 27 points — a career high — and eight rebounds to lead the Lady Lions, who bounced back after trailing by four points at halftime with a solid start to the third quarter.

“We got a lot of points off their press because we beat it,” Lowery said. “It helped us out and made them take some bad shots. We got it down low and that created some opportunities for us.”

Maggie Peeples added 15 points for Christian Heritage, while Kathryn Green and Elizabeth Henderson each finished with 13. Senior point guard Savana Southerland had six points and helped put the Lady Lions in motion with 12 assists and 11 rebounds.

Arlington Christian, with which the Lady Lions split a home-and-home series in the regular season, was led by a 32-point effort from Megan Downs.

The Lady Lions will play in the first round of the 16-team GISA Class 2A state tournament next Wednesday at Andrew College in Cuthbert, facing a yet-to-be-determined team from South Georgia’s Region 3-2A.

Christian Heritage’s boys also advance to state, having earned their berth earlier in the week by advancing to the region semifinals.