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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

FRANKLIN – The Callaway Lady Cavaliers took care of business against Haralson County, and now it’s time for the main event.

Coming into the Region 5-AA tournament, it appeared likely that Callaway and Heard County would play for the championship, and that has become a reality.

While Callaway overwhelmed Haralson County 64-31 on Wednesday, Heard County handled Temple 68-20, setting up the championship showdown.

Heard County will be the host team for Friday’s game, with tip-off set for 8 p.m.

Callaway and Heard County split their two regular-season meetings and finished tied for the top spot in the region.

“Like I told them earlier in the locker room, a goal all year was to make it to the region championship,” said Callaway head coach Deyano Martin. “We’re there. We just have to go out and perform.”

Callaway, which has won six of its past seven games, continued its stellar play with a blowout win over Haralson County.

It was a competitive game early, with the Lady Cavaliers ahead 11-8 after the first quarter, but they led 24-13 at the half and were ahead 45-23 through three quarters.

“I felt pretty good about our performance, particularly the second half,” Martin said. “Then the younger girls got in there and had some fun. It’s always a joy to see the young kids get to play a little bit.”

Junior guard Gabrielle Johnson, Callaway’s leading scorer this season, led the way with 17 points.

Jazmine Thornton, one of Callaway’s talented freshmen, added 15 points, and she closed strong with nine points in the fourth quarter.

Niakoe Burks contributed 11 points, with six points in the third quarter when Callaway put the game away, and freshman post player Lacy Thomas scored nine points.

Camryn Stargell added six points, all in the third quarter, and Keiyunna Maddox scored four points.