Lady Panthers place fourth in Region 8AA
By TODD FORREST Sentinel Writer

Junior Candace Williams in a recent game against Fannin County.

Union County (20-7) fell to the eventual 8AA Region Champs, the Greene County Lady Tigers (20-7) on Friday by the score of 55-48. The Lady Panthers fell behind 30-15 at halftime before making it a game during the second half. "When we played Greene we just weren't ready for the type of game they played," said Junior guard Candace Williams. "We had to get used to it. But once we did, we adjusted well. We could have definitely been region champs, but Fannin did well with the press in the second half and foul trouble killed us." Williams also said that Greene was very different than any team they had played all year and nobody that they played all season long was similar to Greene Co. "They were faster, more athletic, and (easily) the best team we've played so far."

In the Consolation Game on Saturday, Union played Fannin County for the fourth time this season. Union led by as much as twenty during the first half but foul trouble allowed Fannin to get back into the game and escape with a 53- 49 win over the Lady Panthers. Of the four meetings between Union and Fannin, each team won two games each.

The Union County Lady Panthers will open the State Playoffs against the #1 team Class AA in Georgia and defending State Champions, The Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans. GAC was ranked #2 until they knocked off previous #1 team, Wesleyan (25-3), in the 6AA Region Title Game. GAC is currently 23-4 with two of their losses coming to the #2 team in Class AAAAA, Marietta by the score of 48-55. Marietta is currently 26-2 and just won Region 5AAAAA. Another loss was to the Class AAAAA #4 team, McEachern by the score of 34-41. McEachern is 23-4, and lost to Marietta in the 5AAAAA Region Title Game after splitting with them in the regular season. The other two losses came to Wesleyan during the regular season. GAC has also beaten some teams from Class AAAA and AAAAA such as Dacula and Duluth. Duluth finished with a 17-9 record and is headed to the AAAAA State Playoffs.

Williams is looking forward to see how Union County will match-up against a powerhouse private school like GAC. "I am very excited to play GAC, it will be a great test to see how far we have actually come. I know we can take them, it will just take our whole team playing together and with chemistry," said Williams. GAC doesn't have a lot of size but they are extremely quick. "I'm going to work on my dribbling skills," said Williams. Because they're fast and can (steal) the ball off of you very well. Also they aren't that tall so hopefully we'll match up okay." Overall, Williams is confident when it comes to their chances of pulling the upset. Especially with GAC being due for a letdown game after knocking off the #1 team in Georgia. "There is always an upset every year that comes from a smaller team," said Williams. We can definitely be the one to do it with the determination and drive we have."

Union County and GAC don't have a common opponent this season to compare scores but GAC did play Providence who played Dawson County. If you go by margin of victory, using Providence and Dawson as the only link between Union and GAC, the Lady Panthers should be pretty even with the Lady Spartans. GAC defeated Providence by 40 points, Dawson defeated Providence by 10, Union beat Dawson by 28. Based on that formula, GAC would be two point favorites over Union County. Margin of victory is usually not a very reliable method of comparing teams because of teams pulling out the starters to keep from running up the score and other times the game is close but a team pulls away late. But based on that comparison, it should be a very close game.