The 5-AAAA third seed Douglas County Lady Tigers saw their quest to return to the state final four come to an early end at the hands of 6-AAAA second seed Chamblee Friday night. DC (26-3) lost to the Lady Bulldogs (27-2) 54-47 on the road in the first round of the state tournament.

Douglas County opened the game with back-to-back baskets for a 4-0 lead. Chamblee added their first score of the game at the 6:37 mark. After a brief back-and-forth, the Lady Tigers extended their lead to nine and rode out the first quarter for a 17-8 lead.

The Lady Bulldogs quickly cut the deficit to five early in the second quarter. A breakaway layup by Paden Smith with 3:06 on the clock cut the Douglas County’s lead to three. Seconds later, a steal by Breana McDonald and another open layup by Smith pulled Chamblee to within one point, 19-18.

In the final minute the Lady Bulldogs took their first lead of the game, 22-21, on deep 2-point shot from Lucy Mason. On DC’s next possession, Maya Benham hit a layup to retake the lead. The half ended with the Lady Tigers edging out Chamblee 23-22.

Douglas County opened the third quarter four points on a 2-point shot from Benham and a layup from LaTara Spriggs to widen their lead to 25-22. Up 29-26 at the midway point, the Lady Tigers went on a 6-0 run off shots by Benham, Santasia Faust and Amadi Brooks, to take an eight point lead.

With time running out in the third, and DC up by six, the Lady Bulldogs managed to cut the deficit in half when Smith put up a three as the buzzer sounded. The Lady Tigers led 36-33 with eight minutes to play.

A layup and foul shot by Chamblee’s Mason to open the fourth tied the game at 36 with 7:32 remaining. Both teams exchanged baskets as the game ticked down. Tied at 42, Chamblee went on a six point run, their first of the game, capped by a trey from Smith for a 48-42 lead. DC’s Benham returned a 3-pointer on the following possession to cut the deficit to three points as the game entered the final two minutes.

The Lady Tigers would not get any closer and were forced to foul in the final minutes. McDonald knocked down four shots from the line and Smith hit a layup to seal the win for Chamblee.

Mercer, who had an off night, as did many of the Douglas County players, led the Lady Tigers with 13 points. Benham followed with 10. Spriggs added eight and Brooks netted six.

Smith led the Lady Bulldogs with 21 points. Mason followed with 19 and McDonald added 14.