By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
GUYTON – The most exciting and arguably best played girls high school basketball game of the season was the last one played in the county this season.
Effingham County survived the shooting barrage of Hayden Johanson and squeaked out a 63-59 win over South Effingham last Wednesday night (Feb. 5) for its first victory over the Mustangs in more than six years.
Kyjana Jordan and Nakera Hawkins had 17 and 14 points respectively as the Rebels snapped a 17-game losing streak this season.
ECHS entered the game with 11 straight losses to South dating back to (a 53-39 win) Jan. 5, 2019.
The game was memorable for the Mustangs as well. Johanson, a 5-foot-10 junior guard, sank seven 3-pointers en route to a career-high 29 points.
The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 25 but was postponed because of the effects of snow and cold weather five days earlier.
This game didn’t take long to heat up. As a team, South made 12 3-pointers, five in the first quarter, when it bolted to a 17-9 advantage.
ECHS answered with a 12-1 second-quarter run, highlighted by two threes from Aiyanna Tolbert as the Rebels went ahead 24-21 at halftime.
When Johanson re-entered with 7:37 left, the Rebels had a 48-45 lead.
ECHS had a fourth-quarter lead against South in Springfield in the teams’ first meeting this season but faltered down the stretch and lost 45-39.
This time the Rebels held on as the big crowd, equally divided, cheered on every possession. Twice, South closed within one point – the last time 54-53 on a Johanson 3-pointer with 2:45 to go.
But Jada Praylo responded with a 3-pointer on the next possession and freshman Zareonna Beasley had a big 3-point play with 43.3 seconds left.
ECHS made 7-of-9 free throws in the fourth quarter. South was 5-of-11 in the quarter.
It was encouraging showing for both teams as the season headed to the region playoffs. Both teams did not win a subregion game. For the Rebels, 63 points represented a season high. The Mustangs’ 59 points were their most against an opponent other than winless Southeast Bulloch.
