A family affair: East Laurens and East Dublin have a deep connection to upstart team seeking a state championship

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          The “why not us?” mantra is used by many, but only truly deserved for a few.

          East Laurens is one of the few.

          The Falcons have been a quality – if not overlooked or underrated - girls basketball team for a few seasons now, after being an afterthought for longer than that.

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          Program stability – and family blood – have helped pave the way for East Laurens to be on a stage East Laurens athletic programs are very unfamiliar with: the chance to play for a state championship.

          East Laurens brings a serious underdog mentality into the Macon Coliseum when it opens Friday’s state championship play against 2022 champ Elbert County with the GHSA Class A/Division I girls title on the line.

          The Falcons are 27-4 while the Blue Devils are 22-8. And East Laurens actually enters the finale as a favorite, seeded fourth while Elbert County is the 12th seed.

          East Laurens has four winning seasons in Lowther’s five, getting a little better each year, overall and in region play.

          Longtime East Laurens fans have more than a normal stake in Lowther’s teams. She was Danielle Burley when she graduated from the school after playing basketball and softball, part of her family’s longstanding place in East Dublin.

          The commons area of the fairly new version of the high school is named after her father Daniel, who passed away in 2024. Her sister works for the city, her brother also teaches at East Laurens, and his sister taught at East Laurens Elementary.

          The Falcons lost three key seniors (McKayela Tanner, Brenda Tanner, and Jayla Givens) from last year’s region title team, but raised eyebrows by simply reloading. They finished second in 2-A/I in the regular season, and beat Central and Northeast to win their second straight region title.

Elbert County Blue Devils                  East Laurens Falcons
Tiyah Turman, Jr                    G            Deandrea Lowther, Jr.
Audrey Lunsford, Jr.             G/W         Zahmaria Robinson, Jr.
Aaliyah Allen, Jr.                   G             Jameria Bing, Sr.
Kaylen Rucker, Sr.                 G/F           Deanna Lowther, Sr.
Zy Belcher, Sr.,                      F              Garyunna Mitchell, Fr.

          A huge sign of East Laurens growth as a program came in the Falcons’ response to having five players suspended after an altercation – sparked mostly by an East Laurens fan – in he final seconds of a 41-38 win over Central.

          The Falcons lost 61-59 to Northeast three days later, then avenged everything with a 49-39 win over Central in the region tournament, preceding the 52-42 championship win over Northeast.

          And they’ve won every state playoff game by double figures, pressing teams into submission.

          Two more Lowthers have played major roles in East Laurens’ growth.

          Senior center Deanna Lowther has been a leader for years, and is 31 points away from 1,000 points, having passed the 1,000-rebound mark in late January. DeAndrea is a junior small forward and solid defender.

          Freshman Garyunna Mitchell averages a double-double with 13.3 points and 10.7 rebounds. Senior guard Jameria Bing leads East Laurens with 14.5 points a game and has warmed up lately from deep.

          Elbert County won the 2022 Class AA state title, going 28-4. The Blue Devils dropped to 8-22 in Class A in 2023-24, but responded by going 24-5 last year . They lost to Vidalia 44-38 in the second round, with East Laurens dispatching the Indians 61-52 in the third round before eventual state champ Fannin County topped the Falcons 72-63 in the semis.

          The Blue Devils knocked off eighth seed Putnam County 48-45 in the semifinal at Fort Valley State. They trailed by 10 in the second quarter, but turned it into a possession-by-possession game early in the third quarter.

          Elbert County survived foul trouble and was clutch down the stretch. Audrey Lunsford’s jumper put the Blue Devils up for good with two minutes left.

          Zy Belcher had 13 points and five rebounds, while Lunsford had 12 points, and Kaylen Rucker three steals to go with 10 points.

          The teams have one common opponent, ACE Charter. East Laurens took down its region foe 56-48 in December, while Elbert County dispatched the Gryphons 59-39 in the first round.