The last time the Sonoraville Lady Phoenix played the Calhoun Yellow Jackets back in early November, Calhoun won by two points and Sonoraville was left with a sour taste in their mouth.

In hopes of redemption, the Lady Phoenix hosted the Lady Jackets on their home court, and true to form both teams were ready to battle it out to be the victor.

With seconds remaining on the clock the game was tied, but Sonoraville pressed hard and came away with the win 44-40.

Leading the way for the ladies in red and black was Becca Cheeks who netted 14 points. Following closely behind her was teammate Kendall Bowman who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, which included two 3-pointers. Taryn Hickey added 6 points while teammates Abby Connally scored 5 points and Evie Delp swooshed 3 points.

Sonoraville Girls Head Basketball Coach Matt Fox added, “Aimee Pacheco, Emalie Hicks, and Erin Whitlock all provided solid minutes off the bench.”

Leading the offensive push for Calhoun was Sydnie Parker who netted 15 points, blocked 8 shots and had 3 steals. Madeline Murray swooshed 7 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Alexis Nalley and Ashlyn Barnes each scored 6 points, and Nalley pulled down 11 rebounds. Jana Johns added 4 points on the night and Madison Green contributed 2 points.

As far as the game goes, Fox points the win to his girls.

“The girls deserve all the credit in the world; they came out and worked hard and they believed in themselves,” said Fox. “We were a little bit sour about the last lost and we knew catching them here at home would be a huge advantage.”

Now, Fox has his goals set on the region tournament.

“Our ultimate goal is to win a region championship,” said Fox. “But we have to take it one game at a time, and not get ahead of ourselves by any means.”

Calhoun Girls Head Basketball Coach Diane Smith echoed the same sentiment.

“They played a great game; they were on today,” said Smith. “We had entirely too many turnovers, and we did not block out like we should have.” She went on to say that at one point the Lady Jackets had a seven-point lead before Sonoraville rallied.

For Smith, it’s time to start looking ahead to the region tournament as well.

“I expect to face Sonoraville in the finals,” said Smith. “We are going to come back, and we will be ready.”

In other middle school news from the past week:

Wednesday, Jan. 18

The Calhoun Yellow Jackets and Sonoraville Phoenix battled it out at Calhoun Middle School on Wednesday evening. The Yellow Jackets improve to 12-1 on the season after defeating the Sonoraville Phoenix 59-35.

Leading the offensive push for Calhoun was Kaelan Riley who netted 17 points, grabbed 7 rebounds had 9 assists and 6 steals. Following behind him was Ray Reeves who scored 13 points and had 3 assists. Ethan Woodard swooshed 13 points and pulled down 6 rebounds while teammate Jack DeFoor scored 10 points and pulled down 11 rebounds on the night. Chapin Rierson contributed 6 points for Calhoun.

Leading the way for the Sonoraville Phoenix was Austin Carter who netted 7 points on the night. SMS Athletic Director Eddie Jones added that Carter played hard, and that at one point the Phoenix was only down by seven points at the half, but couldn’t get any closer.

B.G.M.S.A.A

Tournament information

Region tournament time is here for both wrestling and basketball. This is how everything matches up:

Wrestling

The League Duals will start at 9 a.m. at Calhoun Middle School Saturday, Jan. 21.

The first matches will be Sonoraville vs. Cartersville, Calhoun vs. Woodland, Cass vs. Ashworth, and Adairsville vs. South Central.

Basketball

The region tournament for Varsity Boys and Girls teams will begin Saturday, Jan. 21.

All first round Varsity Boys games will be played at Gordon Central High School beginning at 3 p.m. All Varsity Girls games will be played at Ashworth Middle School beginning at 3 p.m.