Click here to see a video from Model's playoff game.
Click here for a photo gallery of Model's playoff game.
Click here for a link to the Class AA girls state tournament bracket.
Those who are able to watch a girl’s basketball game at Model High know all about the kind of atmosphere that takes place in the M-Dome.
Wesleyan coach Jan Azar certainly likes it.
For the second time in three years, Azar and her team found the facility to their liking Wednesday night in the second round of the Class AA state playoffs when the top-ranked Lady Wolves ended Model’s season by handing the Lady Blue Devils a 71-50 defeat.
“I love it here,” Azar said after watching her team use a solid second quarter to take control of the game. “This is a great atmosphere with great fans. I’ve always liked coming here.”
The win gives Wesleyan a return trip to Rome on Saturday, when the Lady Wolves (27-3) play a state quarterfinal game at The Forum at 7 p.m. against Region 6-AA rival Buford.
“(Wesleyan) has a great thing going,” Model coach Sally Echols said after the loss. “But this was still a great season for us.”
For the first eight minutes, No. 9 Model (23-7) seemed determined to earn a spot in this weekend’s Elite 8, matching the Lady Wolves point for point and down by one, 18-17, heading into the second period.
That’s when Wesleyan changed its game plan as Azar’s team shifted to a triangle-and-2 defense with Lady Devils Lyndsey Choate and Kiara Smith getting the man coverage.
The move paid off as the Lady Wolves reeled off a 10-0 run to start the quarter and by halftime had assumed a 39-26 advantage.
“We felt like we had to cover (Choate and Smith) because they were their best shooters,” Azar said. “That changed the game.”
“We wanted to come out, get after them and compete,” Echols said, “and we did. But after that we fell out of sync.
“We just couldn’t adjust to (Wesleyan’s defense),” she added. “They kept us from doing what we wanted to do, and that’s the mark of a great team.”
Wesleyan continued its assault on the Lady Devils after halftime, outscoring Model 26-9 in the third period.
The Lady Wolves took their biggest lead of the night when Aysia McKenzie hit a three pointer — one of nine in the game for the visitors — with under four minutes left in the third quarter to give her team a 54-30 cushion.
Wesleyan’s Anne Marie Armstrong led all scorers with 18 points, while Erin Hall finished with 15, and Chantel Kennedy and Grace Leah Baughn added 11 each.
Smith was Model’s lone player to reach double figures as she closed out her high school career with 15 points.
“The team showed so much heart this year,” Echols said. “I am so proud of them.”
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