BY FRANK DAVIS/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
f.davis@charter.net

FRANKLIN—Franklin High School girls’ basketball team was unable to turn two, fourth quarter 3-pointers into a victory over Tri-Rivers District opponent Appomattox Regional Governor’s School on Tuesday night.

The host Lady Broncos went down fighting, before losing 42-40 to the Lady Dragons.

ARGS Head Coach Eric Brower remarked after the game that he expected a hard game against the Lady Broncos as Coach Mona Sumblin is always ready.

In the first quarter, the Lady Dragons initially led 8-4 and ended the period with a 11-9 lead.

In the second quarter, the Lady Broncos battled hard, and the score seesawed a few times with the Lady Dragons holding a narrow lead. Franklin’s Tiara Rogers tied the score at 17-all from the free-throw line with less than a minute remaining in the half. The Lady Dragons dropped in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 20-17 lead to the locker room.

Franklin had a cold third quarter, scoring 4 points to the visitors’ 10 and trailing 30-21 at the end of the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Dragons held on to the lead, but the Broncos kept chipping away. Franklin’s Asya Lee pulled in many key rebounds, and the Broncos pushed the ball down court to keep hopes alive for a win. Rogers scored back-to-back buckets on a steal and then a drive to cut the led to 39-35 with 1:50 remaining in the game.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Franklin’s Victoria Barrett and Tazmyn Anthony put the game in the tie range at 40-42 with 7.3 seconds remaining in the game, but the Lady Dragons fought off the Broncos’ for the win.

“We are getting better with each game,” Sumblin said. “We are a young team, but we are rebuilding, learning and applying skills to the game as we continue to play.”

Leading scorers for the Broncos were Anthony with 13 points and Lee with 9. Barrett and Rogers had 8 points each.