FANNIN COUNTY SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2023
The 2003-2004 basketball season had barely started when a grim pall of déjà vu descended upon the fans of the Fannin County High School Lady Rebels basketball team. As star low post player Stephanie Scearce lay on the court in pain in the season opener against Robbinsville, North Carolina, Lady Rebels faithful remembered a similar scene roughly one year previously. In a December 2002 game against Towns County, Stephanie had suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a knee that had put her on the shelf for the remainder of 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 were benevolent this time, however, and the injury was a minor sprain that caused Stephanie to miss only three games. With Stephanie and fellow Hall of Famer Alden Acker leading the way, the Lady Rebels were poised for another run at a state title. The run provided enough drama to put a lot pressure on the cardiac well being of Lady Rebels supporters.
The Lady Rebels of 2003-2004 competed in Region 7AAA North along with Gilmer County, Pickens County, White County, North Hall and Chestatee. The South side of the Region included powers Johnson High, West Hall and the defending state champion team from Gainesville High School.
The 2003-04 Lady Rebels were a veteran outfit featuring four senior starters: Scearce, Acker, Melissa Roberts and Kristian Panter, as well as back up post player, Cristy Reece. Scearce started at the low post, Panter at point guard with Acker, Roberts and sophomore Bethany Patterson handling the high post and wing positions. All were top-notch shooters.
The ‘Sixth man’ was sophomore Tasha Anderson. Other contributors included junior Katie Falls, sophomores Brittany Lindsey and Kristian Chastain and a group of six up and coming freshmen including future Hall of Famer Megan Queen, Ashley Panter, Ashley Buchanan, Leia Clement, Jordan Hudson and Caitlin Graham. The manager was Katie Bell. Head Coach Johnny Farmer was assisted by former Lady Rebel star and Hall of Famer Suzianne Pass.
The ladies were the 7AAA North regular season champions posting a region record of 9-1 and an overall record of 19-6. The only subregion loss was a 59-54 overtime decision to White County. Ironically, Stephanie Scearce scored the 1,000th point of her career in the first quarter of this game. Melissa Roberts had a season high scoring game with 25 points against North Hall, a 62-29 Lady Rebel victory. The season long scoring balance was typified in a 71-58 decision over Flowery Branch, a contest in which Scearce scored 18, Roberts 13, Acker 12, Panter 12, Patterson 8 and Reece 8.
A 60-56 victory at North Hall in the season finale clinched the regular season title and the top seed of the North subregion teams as the region tournament got underway at Flowery Branch High School. From this point until the final whistle of the state championship the Lady Rebels might well have been called the cardiac kids.
The region tournament opener found Fannin facing a West Hall squad that had defeated the Lady Rebels by nine points in an early season match. This time, however, Fannin posted a well-earned 53-51 triumph as Scearce dropped in two free throws with less than one second remaining. Another regular season loss was avenged when Alden Acker scored with 24 seconds remaining in another heart-stopping victory over Johnson High, 44-43. The Johnson win propelled Fannin to the region championship game against the powerful Gainesville Lady Elephants, perhaps the best team in Georgia, regardless of school size. Too much of Gainesville and future University of Georgia standout Tasha Humphrey spelled doom for Fannin as Gainesville romped to a 57-30 rout. The region runner-up finish, however, qualified the Lady Rebels for the state class AAA tournament.
In the state tournament opener played in Gainesville, the Lady Rebels eliminated Cass with a 65-55 victory. The Cass win found Fannin matched against the number two team in the state, Westminster, in a game played at Mt. Zion High near Atlanta. Fannin took a 42-37 win in the final seconds to advance to the class AAA elite eight against Avondale, another highly ranked opponent. The Fannin girls again prevailed in an overtime nail biter, 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 team to whom they lost in the 1997 championship game, the Thomasville Lady Bulldogs. The game was a classic with the teams tied at 42 after three quarters. With five different players scoring, the Lady Rebels went on a 13-0 scoring binge to open the final quarter and post the game in the victory column. Brittany Lindsey, Tasha Anderson, Stephanie Scearce, Bethany Patterson and Alden Acker all scored as Fannin roared to a 55-42 lead with two minutes remaining. The final score was 60-49 and the Fannin County Lady Rebels were in the championship game again.
Waiting for Fannin in the title were Tasha Humphrey and her Gainesville teammates. Humphrey pumped in 29 points as Gainesville won another one-sided affair, 61-33. The Fannin County Lady Rebels finished as state runners-up with an overall record of 25 wins and 8 defeats.
There was an ample supply of awards to go around to honor the young ladies for their performance throughout the 2003-2004 basketball season. Stephanie Scearce was named team MVP on the strength of her 17.9 ppg scoring average and her 8.1 rebounds ppg performances. Alden Acker, team leader in steals, earned the Best Defensive Player Award. Tasha Anderson won the 6th Man Award, Melissa Roberts the Playmaker Award, Bethany Patterson the Coach’s Award and Kristian Panter was crowned as the Most Improved Player. Brittany Lindsey received the Junior Rebel Award as the leading scorer on the junior varsity team. Brittany also contributed to the varsity cause, especially late in the season.
The Lady Rebels of 2003-2004 became one of six Farmer-coached teams to reach the Final Four and one of four teams to play for a state title. The 1993 and 1999 teams brought home state titles. 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 class AA title game. Quite a legacy for a bunch of young ladies from the northernmost outpost in the state of Georgia.