KENNESAW — McEachern won Friday’s battle of state-ranked Region 4AAAAA unbeatens as the top-ranked Lady Indians took down third-ranked North Cobb 50-41 on Friday.

Pachiyaanna Roberts recorded a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead McEachern (7-0, 2-0). Roberts, who scored 10 of her points in the second half, also added a team-high five steals, to go with three assists.

Dominique Wilson was 7-of-9 from the free-throw line and finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Lady Indians, who now have two road wins against top-five teams, including a win over then-No. 1 Norcross to open the season. Te’a Cooper came off the bench for eight points, while Jocyln Ramos had four points and six rebounds and Destinie Gibbs contributed 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

McEachern took a 15-4 lead in the first quarter, limiting North Cobb to two field goals. The Lady Warriors, however, opened the second on a 7-0 run, capped by a layup from Kyrie’ Chandler, and they eventually took a 21-20 advantage with 1:27 left following two free throws from Amber Reeves.

But back-to-back field goals from Wilson and Cooper put the Lady Indians back on top to stay as they built a 26-24 lead heading into halftime.

Beginning the game without 6-foot-4 senior center Kayla Montgomery, who was sidelined with a right foot injury, McEachern weathered the adversity it faced in the second quarter and came out aggressively in the third using a series of traps and pressure defenses to get in between passing lanes.

A Ramos jumper ignited a 12-2 run over the first 5 minutes of the quarter as the Lady Indians took a 38-26 advantage before holding on to a 38-30 lead entering the final quarter.

Reeves, who scored seven of her team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, connected on a jumper with 4:23 remaining to pull North Cobb to within 40-34, but two free throws from Wilson, followed by a layup from Roberts, built the margin back to 10 with 2:25 left as the Lady Indians slowed the game to run down the clock.

McEachern continued to lead by double digits with 1:31 on the clock before settling for the final margin after two free throws from Wilson with 9.7 seconds remaining.

“We dug deep when we had to,” McEachern coach Phyllis Arthur said. “We didn’t have Kayla, and Mia Cooper played with an injured groin, so she stepped up when we needed her. We were playing sloppy, and we were dragging in the first half. We were playing too safe.

“I asked the girls at halftime to play more aggressively and they came out and did that. North Cobb is a very good team with some very good players, so we’re happy to come out of here with a win.”

Briah Woods added nine points and three steals for North Cobb (6-1, 1-1), while Kristian Carter had six points and four rebounds. Taylor Gordon collected five points and a team-high 13 rebounds.

“We didn’t make the plays that we needed to make, and that had something to do with what McEachern was doing,” North Cobb coach Matt Williams said. “They did a good job defending Taylor and we didn’t make enough shots when we needed to.”

BOYS BASKETBALL

North Cobb 67, McEachern 60: The Warriors, who led by 12 in the third quarter and 10 in the fourth, found themselves trailing 59-58 with 2:02 left in the game after Deonta Patterson scored five straight points for the Indians.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Saxon Steele, who finished with 23 points, made a layup to put North Cobb on top 60-59. McEachern failed to make a field goal on its ensuing possession and went 1-of-4 from the free-throw line down the stretch to let the comeback slip away.

North Cobb (5-1, 2-0) completed the final minute on a 7-1 run and went 5-of-8 from the line.

Steele added nine rebounds and three steals for North Cobb, which led 52-42 with 6:57 remaining before the Indians stormed back to take the one-point advantage with less than 2 minutes to play.

Jordan Neff had 19 points and 12 boards, while Lee Moore contributed 16 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Jon Beausejour collected a team-high 14 rebounds.

Loren Hall paced McEachern (2-2, 0-2) with 21 points and had five steals. Dimar Hill scored 14, Patterson finished with eight and Tray Fletcher had six points, five assists and six steals.