GHS upsets Stephenson in first round
Gilmer High snapped its four-year state tournament drought, and the Lady Cats showed they were not satisfied with just a berth.
The No. 19 seeded Cats were in DeKalb County last Tuesday to take the No. 14 seeded Stephenson Jaguars. While SHS came out strong, Gilmer rallied and smothered the Jaguars for the better part of four quarters. The Cats built a 10-point halftime lead and did not let up in the second half for a 45-36 win.
GHS drew No. 3 Fayette County in the Sweet 16, and the Cats clawed the Tigers for a half. However, FCHS took over in the third quarter and ran away from the Cats in a 57-37 victory.
Stephenson came out in a fury and caused three GHS turnovers to jump ahead, 9-2. Over the final four minutes of the first quarter, GHS went on a 15-3 run to set the tone for the game.
“We made them play our game for the most part,” said head coach David Dowse. “We can’t make them not press, but for the most part, we handled it. We had long possessions and forced them into long possessions. So we shortened the game, which is something you certainly want to do against an athletic team in any sport.
“Our senior captains came up big with Aliza Chastain and Madison Bradshaw, who played maybe the best game that I’ve seen. She (Bradshaw) bailed us out a couple times as the shot clock was winding down and made some buckets and rebounded. She was terrific. I mean they all were. We didn’t substitute the whole game. Chelsey Griggs, Madison and Jace Sanderson were all over the glass. They all rebounded.”
HS struggled from the field and shot a mere 29 percent while faltered mightily in its half-court offense. The Jaguars’ quick hands on defense served their offense well as 15 of their 36 points came off Lady Cat turnovers.
The Cats depended heavily on three-point shots and made 7/27 while they were 11/19 on two-point attempts.
GHS entered the second quarter with a 17-12 lead. While Gilmer’s offense slowed, SHS did not fare any better. Gilmer scored four points following offensive rebounds by Bradshaw and Griggs while Chastain hit a three pointer.
SHS began the second half behind, 26-16. Two quick turnovers saw Gilmer’s lead fall to six before a Chastain three pointer and a Sanderson jumper bumped the Cats’ advantage back to 11 points.
The Cats maintained a 36-25 edge to start the fourth quarter. SHS scored two points off a GHS turnover and hit a three pointer. The Jaguars added two more points after an offensive rebound. Gilmer responded by beating Stephenson’s press before Chastain made another three.
Precious time ticked away as both teams committed turnovers. A Bradshaw jumper ended Gilmer’s brief scoring drought before she made two from the line to move GHS ahead, 45-33. The Jaguars did not manage any points over the 3:30 of regulation until a three pointer at the buzzer cut Gilmer’s margin of victory to nine points.
Chastain scored 18 points and Bradshaw added 13. Sanderson was next with eight, Griggs scored four and Bree Burnette finished with two.
Behind Griggs with 11 rebounds were Sanderson (nine), Bradshaw (seven) and Burnette (two). Bradshaw added four assists and two steals, and Griggs had four assists as well.
Gilmer shot 7/12 to begin the Fayette matchup, which included a trio of three pointers in the first. Meanwhile, the Tigers made only two shots in the opening quarter and were 6/24 from the field through 16 minutes of play.
GHS took a 23-20 lead into the locker room at the half. Six Lady Cat turnovers in the third coupled with a 2/10 shooting effort put Gilmer behind, 41-27.
“They got us in the third quarter. We came out on fire and then they kind of overwhelmed us in the third quarter with their athleticism,” Dowse noted. “They really didn’t have much success with their press, but in the half court, their quickness, athletic ability and pressure caused us some problems.”
Gilmer was back in double figures with 10 points in the fourth, but FCHS extended its lead by six more points at game’s end.
Chastain scored 10 points, Burnette added nine, both Sanderson and Bradshaw finished with eight, and Griggs and Grace Bramlett had one apiece. Bradshaw and Sanderson grabbed six rebounds and Griggs collected five.
Gilmer finished with a 16-12 record. Its number of wins was its most since its last playoff appearance in 2020-21. The Cats’ playoff victory marked the program’s first since the 2019-20 season.
GHS took the court for nine combined games against possible final four teams in Pickens, Heritage, Fayette County, Murray County and Fannin County.
“I’m very pleased with what we’ve been able to accomplish,” Dowse said of the season. “There were probably a handful of games I thought we should have won but let it get away. I thought we peaked at the right time.
“We played an incredibly tough schedule. When we see who is standing in the final four, a huge percentage of the games we played were against final four teams. Nine games out of 24 were against potential final four teams. I’m really pleased with the progress and foundation we set, and we’re only going to get better.”