On paper, Saturday night's AAAAA girls first round game between Mill Creek and Alpharetta should have been an absolute blowout. Top seeded Mill Creek came into the game with a 24-4 record and ranked fourth in the state. The Lady Raiders came in with a 14-13 record and just before the game they learned that starting center Delaney Hollenbeck would be forced to sit with a broken finger. Just like that, 12 points and 10 rebounds (Hollenbeck's season averages) were out the door for Alpharetta. 

Even under those circumstances Alpharetta managed to put a giant scare into the Lady Hawks.

Thanks to 33 points from Kylee Smith (zero of which were scored in the fourth quarter), Alpharetta led 42-40 going into the fourth. However, Mill Creek finished the game on a 25-6 run that turned what was a mostly suspenseful game into a comfortable 15-point win. 

All night, Smith, Alpharetta's fabulous freshman, had Mill Creek fans and students scouring their free game program in disbelief. 

"She can't be a freshman."

"Tell me we are not going to let one girl beat us." 

"Oh. My. God."

Those were just some of the reactions by Mill Creek fans during a third quarter where Smith scored 20 of Alpharetta's 22 points. The latter one came with 30 seconds left in the third when Smith got fouled as she was attempting an improbable spinning layup. Despite the foul, Smith managed to get the shot to drop and she even hit the free throw to give her team a 42-38 lead. At the end of the third, Mill Creek's Alicia Brookins would hit a 5-footer at the buzzer to cut Alpharetta's lead to 42-40. 

Mill Creek coach Ashley Phillips changed her game plan in the fourth. After playing Smith man-to-man throughout the game, the Hawk coach decided to employ a box-and-one for the final period. The ploy worked to perfection, Smith was held scoreless and the Lady Raiders didn't record their first bucket of the period until there was only 2:35 left in the game. The Lauren Brown jump shot cut the lead to 53-44, but Alpharetta wouldn't get any closer. 

Brown finished the game with 10 points. Smith had 11 rebounds to go along with her 33. 

Moneshia Simmons paced the Mill Creek attack with 21 points, 10 of which she scored in the fourth quarter. Teammates Jac Weathers and Sierra Menzies also hit the double digit mark with 11 and 10 points, respectively. 

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