Lady Patriots fight back to win area crown

In a wild, frenetic, back-and-forth contest, Homewood knocked off John Carroll, 85-80, in the Class 6A, Area 9 Tournament final on Tuesday night.

The Lady Patriots were up double digits in the first half, only to find themselves down double digits in the second half. But they responded in a big way to take home their third straight area championship.

John Carroll ripped off 30 points in a huge third quarter, and took a 69-56 lead into the final quarter. Kaitlin Gagliano scored seven of her 16 points for the Lady Cavaliers in that third period.

Homewood (23-6) turned on the jets themselves in the final period, blazing to 29 points of its own and outscoring John Carroll 29-11. Tori Webb was a huge force in the quarter, scoring 12 points. She finished the night with 19.

Point guard Hannah Barber led the Lady Patriots with 21 points in the game, as she scored nine of those in the penultimate quarter.

John Carroll spanned the second and third quarters with a combined 57 points, but bookended the game with quarters of just 12 and 11 points in the first and fourth quarters, respectively.

The Lady Patriots led 22-12 after one quarter and held a 40-39 edge at the break, due in large part to Ajah Wayne, who scored 14 of her 19 points before halftime.

Shelby Hardy scored 11 points iin the game, and Kassidy Crawford and Kaliah Cunningham each scored six for Homewood.

John Carroll put three players in double figures, as Joise Wannemuehler scored 19 on four three-pointers, Kaitlin Gagliano added 16, and Veronica Richardson 14.

The win puts Homewood -- the top-ranked team in Class 6A -- in position to host a sub-regional round game in the state playoffs next week.

John Carroll’s season ends with the loss.