For the third time in five years, the Bulloch Academy Lady Gators will play in a Final Four basketball tournament.
    The first two trips were in 2009 and 2010. Bulloch was in the GISA’s Class AA classification at the time and the squads finished fourth and second respectively.
    BA made the jump to the league’s highest classification in the GISA three years ago. After an adjustment period, the Lady Gators are back competing for the league’s highest prize, the state championship trophy.
    “We are thrilled to be back in the Final Four,” said Bulloch head coach Paul Webb. “While this is the third time in five years, it’s a great thrill each time.”
    Bulloch (27-3) battles Tattnall Square Academy (24-4) tonight at 8:30 p.m. in Hawkins Arena on the campus of Mercer University.
    Seniors Anna Newton, Mary Margaret Reeves, Marianna Peebles and Lauren Dennard were freshmen when the Lady Gators played for the state title in 2010 and were state runners. Newton had played the year before as a talented eighth grader.
    “I’ve wanted to play for a state championship my whole life,” said Dennard. “When we were freshmen, it didn’t mean as much to us because we didn’t play that much. But now that the responsibility is on our shoulders, it’s huge. I think we are ready.”
    "I'm very proud of our seniors and what they have accomplished, not only this season, but in their careers as Lady Gators,” said Webb. “Over the past four years, they have a record of 89-33 (most wins by a senior class in school history) and over the last two years, a 51-9 record with two region championships. They have been to the state playoffs four straight times, played on two region championship teams, in two Final Fours and battled for a state championship.”
    “This year it feels more real than it did our freshman year,” said Reeves. “We are more involved and the pressure is on us. But we’re comfortable with that and we’re ready to make the run.”
    “We’ve got to step up and be leaders,” said Peebles. “This is our time. We’ve got to believe in ourselves, each other and in our teammates.”
    The Lady Gators have met the Tattnall Square Lady Trojans only once this season. In December 2012, Bulloch traveled to Macon for the TSA Christmas tournament. The Lady Gators lost 57-42.
    “We came out slow in that game,” remembered Newton. “Plus, that was in December during Christmas break. They gave us one of our only three losses. Since we played them, we know how to beat them.”
    "Tattnall Square is a tremendous team,” said Webb. “We respect them and what they have accomplished this season, but we are not intimidated by them."
 They have the best player in the GISA in Ivey Slaughter (a top five player for all of Georgia as chosen by Hoopgirlz Recruiting Magazine) and a very good supporting cast. But I have seen our girls take on the best teams in the state over the last five years and I know this bunch will battle all night long as well."
    Slaughter, a 6-1 senior post player who has already signed a college scholarship with Florida State University, averages 23 points per game (ppg). TSA’s Anna Dooley is considered one of the best three-point shooters in the league. Elizabeth Wainwright runs the show at point guard and is an excellent defensive player. Blair Smith and Jordan Allen round out a very talented starting five.
    But defense has been the name of Bulloch’s game as well. During the season, they have used an aggressive man defense and strangling backcourt press to hold opponents to 40 points or less in 23 of their 30 games.
Many of Bulloch’s 1,602 total points have come in defensive transition on steals and turnovers. Yet, the Lady Gators are more than capable of running the floor on offense. Bulloch averages 53.4 ppg.
    Senior center Anna Newton heads the scoring with 15.8 ppg. She also is 105-of-140 (75 percent) from the charity stripe. Sophomore point guard Ashley Burke is next with 9.4 ppg and has drilled 21 three-point shots. She is also a 61 percent free-throw shooter (49-of-80).
Junior forward Chelsea Oglesby has 8.2 ppg while sophomore forward Pate Lomax has 5.0 ppg.
Bulloch’s big three of Newton, Lomax and Oglesby have been dominating the boards on both ends of the court. The senior has pulled down an average of 6.8 rebounds per game (rpg). Lomax has 5.8 while Oglesby has 5.7. Burke has 4.1 steals per game on defense.
"I'm so proud of our girls for the way in which they have come together as a team and for the hard work that they have put into this season,” said Webb. “This is one of the most unselfish bunch of girls that I have ever coached.  I'm particularly proud of our juniors and sophomores who haven't play that much during the playoffs, but they continue to work hard in practice and give our starters a great look at what each opponent will do.   I do not believe we would be in this spot if it were not for those girls."