2003-04 Fannin County High School Girls Basketball Team

The Fannin County basketball family had quite a scare in the first quarter of the opening game of the 2003-04 basketball season, when star low-post player Stephanie Scearce went down with an apparent knee injury. A similar scene had occurred one year earlier, when Stephanie suffered a torn ACL that prematurely ended her junior season. After a year of intensive rehabilitation, she hoped to put the injury behind her and restart her brilliant career during her senior season. The basketball gods smiled on the Lady Rebels, however, and the injury proved to be a deep bone bruise in her knee that caused her to miss five games and not the entire season. With Stephanie and fellow Hall of Famer Alden Acker leading the way, the Lady Rebels poised themselves to make another run at a state title. The 2003-04 Fannin girls were a veteran group led by seniors Scearce, Acker, Melissa Roberts, Kristen Painter and Christy Reese. Scearce started at the low post and Painter at point guard, with Roberts, Acker and sophomore Bethany Patterson handling the high post and wing positions. The "sixth man" off the bench was sophomore Tasha Anderson. Other contributors included junior Katie Falls, sophomores Brittany Lindsay and Kristen Chastain, and a group of up-and-coming freshmen, including future Hall of Famer Megan Queen, Ashley Painter, Ashley Buchanan, Leah Clement, Jordan Hudson and Caitlin Graham. The manager was Katie Bell. Head coach was Johnny Farmer, assisted by former Lady Rebel star and Hall of Famer Suzianne Pass. The young ladies won the regular season sub-region 7-AAA North title with a region record of 9-1 and an overall record of 19-6. The only region loss was an overtime decision to White County - ironically, the game in which Scearce scored her 1,000th career point. The season-long team scoring balance was typified in a 71-58 victory over Flowery Branch, a contest in which Scearce scored 18 points, Roberts 13, Acker 12, Painter 12, Patterson 8 and Reese 8. A 60-56 victory at North Hall clinched the regular season sub-region title and the top seed as the region tournament got underway at Flowery Branch. From this point on, the Lady Rebels might well have been named the Cardiac Kids. In the region tourney opener, Stephanie Scearce dropped in two free throws with less than one second remaining in a heart-stopping 53-51 victory over West Hall. Next, Alden Acker scored with 24 seconds remaining to propel the Lady Rebels past Johnson High in another thriller, 44-43. In the championship game, however, future University of Georgia and WNBA star Tasha Humphrey and her Gainesville High teammates prevailed, and the Fannin girls finished as region runners-up. The region runner-up finish earned a trip to the state tournament, where Fannin eliminated Cass in the first round. The thrills continued in the next game against Westminster, the number two rated team in the state. The Lady Rebels won that game in the final seconds and advanced to the Elite Eight against Avondale. Avondale fell 53-51 as sophomore Bethany Patterson hit a crucial three-pointer in regulation to send the game to overtime. In the first game of the Final Four, Fannin faced the Thomasville Lady Bulldogs. The game was a classic, with the teams tied at 42 after three periods. With five different players scoring, the Lady Rebels opened the final quarter with a 13-0 run and posted the game in the victory column. Brittany Lindsay, Tasha Anderson, Stephanie Scearce, Bethany Patterson and Alden Acker all scored as the ladies roared to a 55-42 lead and an eventual 60-49 victory. Gainesville was again too much for Fannin in the championship game, and the Lady Rebels finished as state runners-up with an overall record of 25 wins and 8 losses. There was an ample supply of awards to go around to the Lady Rebels for their performance during the 2003-04 season. Stephanie Scearce was selected as Team Most Valuable Player and Alden Acker as the Best Defensive Player. Tasha Anderson won the Sixth Man Award. Melissa Roberts received the Playmaker Award. Bethany Patterson earned the Coaches Award and Kristen Painter was named the Most Improved Player. Brittany Lindsay received the Junior Rebel Award as leading scorer on the junior varsity team; Brittany also contributed to the varsity cause, particularly late in the season. The Fannin County Lady Rebels of 2003-04 became one of six Johnny Farmer-coached teams to reach the Final Four and one of four to play for a state title. The 1993 and 1999 teams won state championships. The program would not reach a similar level of success until the 2020-21 squad, coached by Ryan Chastain, advanced all the way to the state Class AA title game. Quite a legacy for a bunch of young ladies from the northernmost outpost in the state of Georgia. Please welcome the 2003-04 Fannin County High School Lady Rebels basketball team to the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame.