St. Francis Lady Knights Fall in Double Overtime, 63-60

Morgan Batey hit a long-range buzzer-beater to force overtime, and Kaitlyn Dinkins' three-pointer in the second overtime gave Pace Academy’s girls’ basketball team another upset victory in their march to the semifinals of the GHSA Class A state playoffs.

The No. 8 Lady Knights won 63-60 over No. 5 St. Francis behind Batey's 24 points, while Dinkins’ shot set a new single-season record for Pace, topping her own total of 81 three-pointers last season.

Pace was not one of the favorites entering the playoffs two weeks ago. “We’re a Cinderella team,” said coach Regina Tate. “We’ve knocked off three top-10 teams in a row, and we weren’t expected to win any of them.”

The Lady Knights had fallen twice to Region 5-A rival St. Francis before Saturday night's game, a 49-43 loss during the regular season and 67-58 defeat in the semifinals of the region tournament.

“I didn’t feel like the two losses worked against us coming into this game,” said Tate. “If anything I figured it would be hard for them to find a way to beat us a third time. They’re an excellent team, but I knew we had a good chance.”

With Haley Zwecker handling point, Batey in the post, and Dinkins spotting up for three’s, Pace gave St. Francis all they could handle. The Lady Knights also contained St. Francis’ star Keyona Hayes for much of the game, thanks to a team effort that included strong rebounding and solid defense from Sarah Patterson, Claire Quintrell and Evelyn Hobbs.

Despite a slow start from Hayes, St. Francis jumped out to an early advantage before Dinkins connected on a pair of three-pointers to retake the lead for Pace. Her first three didn’t come until there was 0:35 showing on the first quarter clock, and it cut a four-point deficit down to 13-12. With a one-point lead and little time left, St. Francis tried to hold the ball for one shot, but Pace forced a turnover and called timeout with 0:07 left. Tate's play called for Zwecker to drive the lane and look for Dinkins in the corner. Dinkins nailed the triple at the buzzer and gave Pace a 15-13 lead heading into the second quarter.

From there on out the Lady Knights held the lead most of the way, as Hayes continued to struggle for St. Francis.  She picked up two fouls in the first quarter and spent several minutes on the bench. After re-entering the game in the second quarter she didn’t score her first point until a free throw at the 2:32 mark. Her first field goal didn’t come until there was just 1:45 remaining in the first half.  Pace found a way to stop the player many consider the most unstoppable in Class A. As a result they took a 26-18 lead into halftime.

After the intermission it was more of the same as Batey made several midrange jump shots and Hayes searched for her own shooting touch. She finally found it with a three-pointer at the 5:15 mark, and St. Francis cut the lead to 33-32. After two three-point plays from Batey, one from beyond the arc and the other on a driving basket followed by a free throw, the Lady Knights extended the lead to 43-36 as the game entered the final quarter.

Hayes took over at that point, asserting herself on the glass and connecting on several field goals inside the paint. She had only six points through three quarters but finished the game with 21 points, leading her team back from a seven-point deficit to a three-point advantage with time running out.

Suddenly down three, and with only 15 seconds remaining, Pace called a play for Dinkins, but her three-point attempt was partially blocked and the ball went out of bounds with under two seconds left. Out of timeouts, Pace quickly inbounded the ball to Batey, who found a way to get open in the corner. Her three-point shot with a defender in her face hit nothing but net, and the scoreboard showed 52-52 as the horn sounded.

The odds were against Pace in overtime as Zwecker had fouled out of the game near the end of regulation. "I pretty much had a heart attack when Haley fouled out," said Tate. "I didn't think we could afford to lose her." Tate asked her high-scoring forward to take over the point guard spot and Batey handled it well, but neither team managed a field in the first overtime. A pair of free throws for each team kept the score tied at 54-54, and Dinkins’ three-point attempt at the buzzer came up short.

Patterson made a key play in the second overtime. With the score tied again 56-56 and St. Francis focused on Batey and Dinkins, she drove to the basket and passed off to  Quintrell, who made the layup to give Pace a two-point lead. Hayes responded for St. Francis, scoring two baskets on offensive rebounds to take the lead back 60-58.

On the next possession, with under a minute left to play, Dinkins spotted up one more time from the three-point line, and nailed it to give Pace a 61-60 advantage.  After a missed attempt by St. Francis, Batey grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled. Her two free-throws gave Pace its final margin of victory.

Batey led Pace (26-5) with 24 points. Dinkins and Patterson added 12 each. For St. Francis, Hayes registered 21 rebounds to match her point total. St. Francis finished the season 24-4.

Pace finished third in their own region and had to survive an overtime contest with Holy Innocents to avoid a fourth-place finish. After dismissing overmatched Glascock County in a play-in game, Pace faced Southwest Atlanta Christian in the opening round of the state tournament. SACA entered the game 24-4 and ranked third in the AJC’s final regular season poll. They had also beaten Pace earlier in the season 64-51. Pace shocked the Warriors with a 60-54 victory and advanced to the next round.

In the second round Pace traveled over two hours to play a Towns County team that was 27-1 and ranked seventh in the AJC poll.  Despite being an underdog yet again, Pace won that game by an impressive score of 69-54 and advanced to the “Elite 8” against St. Francis.

Another top-10 team awaits Pace in the next round. They’ll face Turner County (24-6, ranked 10th by the AJC)), at 7 p.m.  Wednesday, at the Centreplex in Macon.