Foot at fault in Wolfpack loss

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- Greenbrier had made it so far to be edged out by a foot.

The Lady Wolfpack were leading Westside-Macon by one with 25 seconds to play with their reliable point guard Michelle Swiec at the free-throw line. Swiec missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Westside took the rebound downcourt. L'Teshia Holloway lost the ball and it appeared to bounce off her foot out of bounds with no Greenbrier players in the vicinity.

But the referees gave the ball to the Seminoles, and Shan Corbett made a lay up along the baseline with 7 seconds to play to give Westside the lead and an eventual 54-52 victory in the Class AAAA state quarterfinals at the Columbus Civic Center.

"The ball went straight off her foot," senior Alisha Simmons said. "That was a really bad call."

Westside will play either St. Pius X or Stone Mountain on Wednesday night at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth.

Greenbrier (23-8), which led by as many as six, took a 52-51 lead after Brooke Jackson made a 3-pointer with 30 seconds to play. At the time, it appeared Jackson made her second game-winner of the postseason; she also beat Effingham County in the first round of the Region 2-AAAA tournament.

"What a huge shot for her," Greenbrier coach Garrett Black said. "She had an off night up until that shot. But it was huge and we thought we could hold on."

But Greenbrier couldn't recover from the Corbett lay-in, with a baseball in-bounds pass being intercepted past the 3-point line as time expired.

"They work as hard as any team I've ever played against," Westside coach Deb Baber said. "They outhustled us all game. We're happy to survive this one with a win.

"But it was too close for me to handle."

The loss ends the greatest season in Greenbrier's history. The Lady Wolfpack had never made the state playoffs before this season and went on a run, aided partially by a favorable draw in which they didn't have to play a ranked team.

"The hardest thing is probably dealing with the good draw we had," Black said. "You never know what kind of draw your going to get in the playoffs. We had an outstanding one and we'll probably never get one as good as that."

Greenbrier ended the season with the most wins by a basketball team ñ boys or girls ñ in school history and the most by a girls team in Columbia County history.

"It hurts bad," Black said. "I have been saying we had nothing to lose and we were playing with house money. But this one hurts. I've never been more proud of a team in the 11 years I've coached."

Greenbrier returns four starters next season and has only two seniors on the team. Simmons and reserve Kristi Nichols will not return.

"Everybody cried after the game because this was my last game," Simmons said. "I told them don't cry. This was the most fun I've ever had on a team. People will be talking about this team for a long time. Well, at least until next year. I think these girls will be really good next year."

Reach Jonathan Heeter at (706) 868-1222

or jonathan.heeter@augustachronicle.com.Body CopyBy Jonathan Heeter

Columbia County Bureau

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- Greenbrier had made it so far to be edged out by a foot.

The Lady Wolfpack were leading Westside-Macon by one with 25 seconds to play with their reliable point guard Michelle Swiec at the free-throw line. Swiec missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Westside took the rebound downcourt. L'Teshia Holloway lost the ball and it appeared to bounce off her foot out of bounds with no Greenbrier players in the vicinity.

But the referees gave the ball to the Seminoles, and Shan Corbett made a lay up along the baseline with 7 seconds to play to give Westside the lead and an eventual 54-52 victory in the Class AAAA state quarterfinals at the Columbus Civic Center.

"The ball went straight off her foot," senior Alisha Simmons said. "That was a really bad call."

Westside will play either St. Pius X or Stone Mountain on Wednesday night at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth.

Greenbrier (23-8), which led by as many as six, took a 52-51 lead after Brooke Jackson made a 3-pointer with 30 seconds to play. At the time, it appeared Jackson made her second game-winner of the postseason; she also beat Effingham County in the first round of the Region 2-AAAA tournament.

"What a huge shot for her," Greenbrier coach Garrett Black said. "She had an off night up until that shot. But it was huge and we thought we could hold on."

But Greenbrier couldn't recover from the Corbett lay-in, with a baseball in-bounds pass being intercepted past the 3-point line as time expired.

"They work as hard as any team I've ever played against," Westside coach Deb Baber said. "They outhustled us all game. We're happy to survive this one with a win.

"But it was too close for me to handle."

The loss ends the greatest season in Greenbrier's history. The Lady Wolfpack had never made the state playoffs before this season and went on a run, aided partially by a favorable draw in which they didn't have to play a ranked team.

"The hardest thing is probably dealing with the good draw we had," Black said. "You never know what kind of draw your going to get in the playoffs. We had an outstanding one and we'll probably never get one as good as that."

Greenbrier ended the season with the most wins by a basketball team ñ boys or girls ñ in school history and the most by a girls team in Columbia County history.

"It hurts bad," Black said. "I have been saying we had nothing to lose and we were playing with house money. But this one hurts. I've never been more proud of a team in the 11 years I've coached."

Greenbrier returns four starters next season and has only two seniors on the team. Simmons and reserve Kristi Nichols will not return.

"Everybody cried after the game because this was my last game," Simmons said. "I told them don't cry. This was the most fun I've ever had on a team. People will be talking about this team for a long time. Well, at least until next year. I think these girls will be really good next year."

Reach Jonathan Heeter at (706) 868-1222 or jonathan.heeter@augustachronicle.com.