Livi Mullis takes on the height of Deerfield-Windsor , the only team the Lady Panthers played this season and were unable to defeat .
Ali Strenth prepares to fire up a 3-pointer against Brookwood .
Then came John O ’ Brien , who brought them to the semifinals in 2009 . The Lady Panthers sent Strong Rock Christian to overtime , but were denied again . A year later , O ’ Brien and Tiftarea were in another final four . Bulloch Academy was the spoiler in 2010 , an even closer 46-42 finish .
Mike Patrick had the reins in 2011 as Tiftarea transitioned to Class AAA . They were in the semifinals once more and this time ran into a juggernaut . Arlington Christian won its 88th consecutive game , though the Lady Panthers made it close at 58-46 . After 2011 , Tiftarea kept up its excellence . They ’ ve missed state only once since then . Before 2023 , five of their last seven squads made it to the second round of the state tournament .
As painful as it was in the moment to fall in the championship game for players and coaches , they can look back and see how huge the season was .
“ We had a good year , a really good year ,” Flick said . The campaign began with a bang , the Lady Panthers obliterating visiting Windsor Academy of Macon , 63-12 . They won their first six games before running into Southland for the first time .
The slate includes not just big wins in their region and in the big dance , but also other teams . Tiftarea swept Citizens Christian Academy , a squad that finished as runners-up in Class AA to Piedmont Academy . They also won in Damascus against Southwest Georgia Academy , who reached the final four in AA .
“ It ’ s not something for them to hang their head about ,” he said . Flick said Deerfield-Windsor played its best game all season to win by that margin . That ’ s saying plenty , considering the Lady Knghts only lost one game this season and defeated a GHSA Class 7A team in Colquitt County .
Though Flick is busy assisting baseball , soon begins the preparations for the 2023-24 season . Tiftarea graduates plenty . Elli Bryan , Ali Strenth , Grace Odom , Jolee Paulk , Livi Mullis not only all started this year , but had significant playing time as soon as they were old enough to suit up for varsity . Bryan and Strenth are five-year starters .
Bryan heads to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on a softball scholarship .
Strenth and Bryan both hit the 1,000-point milestone during the season , something only four Lady Panthers have hit at Tiftarea over the last 13 years .
Bryan averaged 12 points per game this season , with Strenth second at 10 points per game . Strenth had the single-game high , 25 in a February game at Citizens Christian that was her 1,000th point game . Graciously , CCA allowed Strenth a moment on the court to celebrate .
Mullis scored at a rate of 7 points per game in 2022-23 , with Paulk adding 5 . Odom , playing through a knee injury all season , was a defensive stalwart and had a knack of hitting big 3-pointers . For their efforts , Mullis , Strenth and Bryan were named both to the GIAA AAA All-State team , as well as the All-Stars . Bryan and Strenth were on different teams in the All-Star game , Bryan for the red team and Strenth for the royal blue .
Strenth , Mullis and Bryan were additionally named All-District for 3-AAA .
Though confident , there were obstacles along the way . Odom and Mullis had injuries that affected them . Wear and tear of both softball and basketball seasons affected others .
Southland and Deerfield were the obstacles on the floor , Southland being arguably the bigger frustration because of the closeness of the games .
22 TiftonScene | MAY 2023