News & Announcements
Season Recap: Varsity Girls Basketball
Elite is defined as a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group. That defines the Lady Indians succinctly. The 2021-22 version of Tallulah Falls girls basketball not only stood above the rest of Region 8-A Private - claiming the team’s first outright region championship ever - but also stood above nearly the entire state in Class 1A Private, and even above any team that has come before them in the program’s history.
While the early part of the season proved frustrating in terms of just being able to play games - several games got postponed or canceled - the back end of the season made up for it.
After a 1-2 start to open the season, and 1-3 if you include a season-opening scrimmage against rivals Rabun Gap, the Lady Indians were seeking their identity under first year head coach Lowell Hamilton. Then came a win streak that reached 6 and got the girls going. That momentum carried throughout the rest of the regular season, as TFS ended the regular season at 11-4 and 6-2 in region play.
A tie-breaker in the standings gave TFS the top overall seed heading into the region tournament. The girls cruised to a 14-point win over host George Walton to advance to the region championship game. A 47-38 win over Prince Avenue Christian produced the team’s first ever region tournament championship. That gave Tallulah Falls a guaranteed home game in each of the first two rounds of the state tournament, should they win the opening round.
The Lady Indians did win the opener, a 20-point dominant victory over Mt. Bethel to advance to their third-ever Sweet 16. In the second round, a 25-point win over Heritage produced the first Elite 8 run in school history. TFS once again got to host, as 3-seeded Galloway came to Tallulah Falls for the quarterfinals. Though seeded third in their region, Galloway was ranked #5 in the state. TFS held the lead through nearly the entire first half, including going up by 8. Galloway used a huge third quarter to complete a comeback and end the Lady Indians’ season.
All told, TFS was 15-5 overall, won the region title, and gave Tallulah Falls basketball (boys or girls) their first Elite 8 in history. Juniors Denika Lightbourne and Veronaye Charlton had two of the most productive seasons in program history, as both recorded well over 300 points to land in the top-10 in school history for single-season scoring.
Lightbourne’s final tally of 342 points brought her career mark to 971 as she closes in on 1,000 career. Charlton is just behind her with exactly 884 points. Both guards earned All-Region honors, while Macy Murdock did as well. Murdock and fellow senior Barrett Whitener played their final season for TFS. Freshmen Haygen James and Breelyn Wood got their first taste of varsity, and proved valuable to the team. Juniors Molly Mitchell and Kailyn Neal also were pivotal to the success of the Lady Indians. The girls also were ranked as high as #7 in the state polls, which is the best ranking in the history of the program.