Glendon Poe | The Valdosta Daily TimesHighland Christian Academy forward Makayla Scruggs (12) attempts a layup against Shiloh Hills during a GICAA state playoff game Monday night.

VALDOSTA — Ashley Hester used her speed to provide an offensive spark for the Highland Christian Academy girls basketball team in their GICAA state playoff opener. 

The junior scored a game-high 17 points in a 44-30 win against the Shiloh Hills Challengers on Monday night.

“We love fast breaks, Hester is our fast-break girl,” Highland senior Mallory Sutton said.

Said Hester: “I know it disappoints (my teammates) when I miss shots, so I try to make it a No. 1 priority to make them.”

Hester rebounded a missed free-throw attempt and scored to extend the Eagles’ lead to 25-15 early in the third. She made a pair of free throws with 4:45 remaining in the period to make it 30-21, and she added a steal and a free throw to account for the Eagles’ final points.

Junior Ansleigh North scored 13 points for Highland, and Makayla Scruggs chipped in seven points to help the Eagles advance to the GICAA Elite 8.

“It’s been a while since we’ve done this as a girls varsity team here, so it’s very exciting to be on this team,” Hester said.

Highland made smart decisions with the ball throughout the night. Sutton slung a pass between two Shiloh Hills defenders from just beyond half-court and found Hester for a layup early in the first period. Sutton passed to an open Scruggs for a deep jumper to give Highland a 9-8 lead. Sutton hit North for a shot in the paint on the Eagles’ next possession. 

Kayllie O’Connor made a go-ahead 3-pointer midway through the second quarter that gave the Eagles the lead for good.

Hester had a steal and a layup a few possessions later, before Scruggs passed to North for a floater in the lane to make it 21-15 with 4:32 remaining in the opening half. Hester made a layup high off the glass to put Highland ahead 23-15 at halftime.

“We had to step it up and do better than the first half,” Sutton said. “We said that they think they have us right where they want us and they were going to do better, so we had to be better than them.”

Riley McCosh and Elsie Jenkins each scored 12 points for the Challengers.

“They had good movement on offense and quick passes that opened the 3 and made us play 3-point defense,” Sutton said.

Eagles coach Todd Von Weyhe said his team was prepared to see Shiloh Hills attempt more 3s in the second half. He emphasized adding to the lead in case the visitors were able to make those 3-point attempts.

“We came out and put some more pressure on them, their guards weren’t as good as they needed to be and that actually helped us with our press,” Von Weyhe said.

UP NEXT

Highland advances to the GICAA Elite 8. The Eagles play David Emmanuel Academy on Friday at 8:30 p.m. at South Georgia State College in Douglas.