Down 17 points at halftime to Eagle’s Landing Christian, the McNair Lady Mustangs put together an improbable second half really to win 42-40 to earn their first state playoff bid since 2000.

After taking a brief 37-34 lead with 3:47 to play, their first of the game, the Lady Mustangs (14-12) pulled out the win with five points in a furious final 56 seconds.

A free-throw by Jazmine Lopez with 56 seconds left gave Eagle’s Landing Christian (8-15) 38-37. McNair came down the floor and on a missed shot Karol Ridges battled for the rebound, put it back up and in and was fouled. She hit the free throw to give her team a 40-38 lead with 39.7 seconds remaining in the game.

Lopez answered by beating the press and driving for a layup to knot the game at 40-40 with 20 seconds left. McNair’s Ja’Meisia Moore was fouled underneath the basket and went to the line with 12.3 remaining on the clock. She hit the first of the two free throws to make it 41-40 advantage in favor of the Lady Mustangs.

Eagle’s Landing Christian’s Kara Anthony rebounded the missed second free throw and the ball was knocked out of bounds with 5.9 left on the clock. Following a timeout a pass up the court was intercepted by Ridges, and she was fouled with 1.4 seconds to play.

She hit the first of the two free throws to up the margin to 42-40 and missed the second. But the time Chelsea Reid corralled the rebound in the corner for Eagle’s Landing Christian the final buzzer sounded.

McNair had defeated Eagle’s Landing Christian twice during the regular season but was trailing 24-7 at the half mostly due to 19 first half turnovers and shooting 12.5 percent (2-16). Eagle’s Landing Christian’s Jazmine Lopez had 11 points and Layla Lewis added seven including two three-pointers in the second quarter to really open the lead.

The Lady Mustangs came out more intense on defense to open the second half and got off to a 7-0 start behind four points from Kei’sia Clayton, an offensive put back by Ridges and a free throw by Moore. A drive by Clayton with 11 seconds to play in the third period closed the gap to 32-25 with a quarter to play.

An offensive put back by Zy’Eisha Hudson and length of the floor drive by Siyenna Dailey tied the game at 34. Moore found herself without a dribble and no outlet when she found Amani Holmes on the far wing. Holmes took the pass, set her feet, and drilled a three-pointer for a 37-34 lead.

Ridges finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds to lead McNair into the playoffs. She got help from teammates Kei ‘Asia Clayton and Siyenna Dailey with eight points each.

Eagle’s Landing Christian got 23 points from Lopez and 10 points from Lewis.

In other 5-2A girls’ action, Callaway (22-3) defeated Towers (1-22) 52-18 to end the Lady Titans season.

Region 4-5A
Three DeKalb teams punched their state playoff tickets with wins in the 4-5A Tournament at Tucker on Monday night.

The Lithonia Lady Bulldogs (6-17) knocked off the Martin Luther Jr. Lady Lions (9-17) 41-36 to earn a second consecutive state tournament berth. The Bulldogs (9-15) took care of business in the first boys’ game via a 56-48 win over the Arabia Mountain Rams (14-12) to earn a 10th consecutive trip to the state playoffs.

Decatur (7-12) pulled out a 45-39 win over the Tucker Lady Tigers (4-18) to knock Tucker out of postseason contention.

The nightcap went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Lions (18-8) in a 66-48 win over the Chamblee Bulldogs (8-14) in boys’ action. The Lions return to the state playoffs for the first time since 2021.

Region 6-4A
The Miller Grove Wolverines (4-20) advanced to the quarterfinals of the Region 6-4A Boys’ Tournament by knocking out fell DeKalb foes the Clarkston Angoras (4-21) 57-47.

Region 4-6A
The Dunwoody Lady Wildcats (0-26) lost to host South Cobb to end their season. The Lakeside Vikings (9-17) fell to the host South Cobb in boys’ action by score of 49-46 to fall out of the postseason.

DCSD REGION SCHEDULE
Monday, Feb. 12
REGION 4-6A at South Cobb
(G) South Cobb (6-13) def. Dunwoody (0-26)
(B) South Cobb (9-14) 49, Lakeside (9-17) 46

REGION 4-5A at Tucker
(Winners in 5A State Playoffs)
(G) Lithonia (6-17) 41, M.L. King (9-17) 36
(B) Lithonia (9-15) 56, Arabia Mountain (14-12) 48
(G) Decatur (7-12) 45, Tucker (4-18) 39
(B) M.L. King (18-8) 66, Chamblee (8-15) 48

REGION 6-4A at Holy Innocents
(B) Miller Grove (4-20) 57, Clarkston (4-21) 47

REGION 5-2A AT TOP SEED
(Winners in 2A State Playoffs)
(G) Callaway (22-3) 52, Towers (1-22) 18
(G) McNair (14-12) 42, ELCA (8-15) 40

Tuesday, Feb. 13
REGION 6-4A at St. Pius
(B) North Atlanta (9-14) vs. Dunwoody (9-14), 5:30 pm

REGION 6-4A at Holy Innocents
(G) Clarkston (2-19) at Stone Mountain (6-18), 5:30 pm
(rescheduled)
(Winners in 4A State Playoffs)
(G) Druid Hills (9-15) vs. Westminster (17-6), 4:00 pm
(B) Stephenson (7-16) vs. Hapeville (13-12), 5:30 pm
(G) Miller Grove (7-15) vs. SW DeKalb (19-6), 7:00 pm
(B) Stone Mountain (8-16) vs. Westminster (17-8), 8:30 pm

REGION 5-2A AT TOP SEED
(Winners in 2A State Playoffs)
(G) Elite Scholars (1-18) at Columbia (19-5), 6:00 pm
(G) Redan (5-18) at Landmark Christian (14-4), 6:00 pm
(B) Redan (10-13) at Towers (14-11), 6:00 pm
(B) McNair (1-24) at Columbia (22-2), 7:30 pm

Wednesday, Feb. 14
REGION 4-5A at Tucker
SEMIFINALS
(G) Decatur (7-12) vs. Chamblee (15-5), 4:00 pm
(B) M.L.King (18-8) vs. Decatur (17-6), 5:30 pm
(G) Lithonia (6-17) vs. Arabia Mountain (22-2), 7:00 pm
(B) Lithonia (9-15) vs. Tucker (20-4), 8:30 pm

REGION 6-4A at Holy Innocents
(Winners in 4A State Playoffs)
(G) Hapeville (9-15) vs. Stephenson (14-10), 4:00 pm
(B) SW DeKalb (10-14) vs. Druid Hills (15-10), 5:30 pm
(G) Stone Mountain/Clarkston vs. Holy Innocents (19-6), 7:00 pm
(B) Miller Grove (4-20) vs. Holy Innocents (19-6), 8:30 pm