The Gilmer Lady Cats had another three-game week on the basketball court.
GHS hosted No. 6 ranked Dawson County last Tuesday. While the Cats kept pace early, they faded in the second half and DCHS won, 61-38. At Lumpkin County Friday, the first half was where the Cats struggled. The Indians built a 19-point halftime lead on their way to a 56-39 win.
Gilmer was in Fannin County Saturday for a nonregion matchup. The Cats experimented with different defensive looks to slow the Lady Rebels, but GHS fell short at the end, 56-50.
Gilmer was hot early versus Dawson. Aliza Chastain and Lucy Ray both hit a pair of threes in the first half and Bree Burnette made another. Dawson’s Eva Bishop scored nine of 14 points in the half driving to the basket, while Abby Slaton and Maddie Siuta fired away from outside.
Dawson turned its three point first quarter lead into a 34-26 edge at the half. However, Gilmer’s offense was stagnant over the final 16 minutes of the game.
“I don’t think we showed up in the second half,” said head coach Dani Wright. “I thought we should have played better, but I’m not discrediting Dawson either because they’re such a very good team and they’re so well coached. He does such a good job of getting them better every game, but I don’t know what happened with us mentally.”
DCHS made five straight threes in the third to open a 53-31 lead. Gilmer continued to struggle in the fourth as Dawson added to its advantage.
Chastain scored 11 for GHS, Ray added nine and Burnette finished with seven.
“I was a little upset (with the second half) afterward, and they knew and they understood why. And so, we tried to get better from that game,” said Wright.
“Even going to Lumpkin, we had a hard time. You see stuff when we watch film and there’s a lot of good things we do, but we’re not putting it all together. We’ll play really, really good defense, and maybe not show up offensively. Or vice versa.”
GHS hit 8/17 three-point attempts against Lumpkin, but only made 5/23 two-point shots. Meanwhile, Lumpkin shot 50 percent from the field and had success inside (24 post points) and out (9/20 from beyond the three-point arc).
The Cats trailed 33-14 at halftime. While their offense picked up in the second half, the Cats never recovered.
“Offensively, we just couldn’t hit but we played pretty good defense,” said Wright. “The same with Fannin, and I thought our defense was really good and we tried to shake some stuff up. We did a lot trying to throw some junk defenses at them, to just throw them off.”
Gilmer played zone and man defenses versus Fannin to end the week. The Cats were dealing with some seasonal illness, injuries and another three-game week.
“It was just a long week. Everyone was sick, too, and it was just an accumulation of everything. It’s a long season on top of that,” said Wright.
The game was close throughout. FCHS led by three after a quarter and 26-23 at halftime. The game remained even in the second half, but GHS could not secure the win.
“The last minute of the game, I don’t know if we hit fatigue or if it was mental. We made some errors at the end of each quarter (in the second half) where we gave up four to six points,” Wright explained.
Chelsey Griggs led GHS with 15 points. The loss dropped the Cats’ record to 7-13, and they are 2-7 in the region.
GHS was in White County at press deadline and hosts Wesleyan Friday at 7 p.m.
Jan. 23 vs. Dawson Co.
1 2 3 4 F
G 16 10 5 7 38
D 19 15 21 6 61
GHS scoring: Chastain 11. Ray 9. Burnette 7. Griggs 6. Riblet 3. Madison Bradshaw 2. Rebs.: Griggs 7. Bradshaw 4. Burnette 2. Chastain, Ray, Riblet, Carly Becerra 1. Assts.: Griggs 4. Chastain 3. Burnette 2. Riblet, Bradshaw 1. Stls.: Grace Bramlett, Burnette, Griggs 2. Bradshaw, Chastain, Riblet 1.
Jan. 26 at Lumpkin Co.
1 2 3 4 F
G 8 6 12 13 39
L 14 19 16 7 56
GHS scoring: Burnette 10. Chastain 6. Bradshaw, Becerra, Griggs, KateLynn Carder 5. Bramlett 3. Rebs.: Griggs 5. Becerra 4. Bramlett, Chastain, Burnette, Jaylee McDaniel 2. Bradshaw, Riblet, Carder 1. Assts.: Burnette, McDaniel 3. Chastain, Griggs 2. Bramlett, Becerra 1. Stls.: Chastain 4. Becerra 2. Ray, McDaniel, Griggs 1. Blks.: Bramlett 2.
Jan. 27 at Fannin Co.
1 2 3 4 F
G 9 12 14 15 50
F 12 14 16 14 56
GHS scoring: Griggs 15. Burnette 9. Ray 8. Chastain, Bradshaw 7. Riblet, Becerra 2.
Jan. 23 vs. Dawson Co.
1 2 3 4 F
G 16 10 5 7 38
D 19 15 21 6 61
GHS scoring: Chastain 11. Ray 9. Burnette 7. Griggs 6. Riblet 3. Madison Bradshaw 2. Rebs.: Griggs 7. Bradshaw 4. Burnette 2. Chastain, Ray, Riblet, Carly Becerra 1. Assts.: Griggs 4. Chastain 3. Burnette 2. Riblet, Bradshaw 1. Stls.: Grace Bramlett, Burnette, Griggs 2. Bradshaw, Chastain, Riblet 1.
Jan. 26 at Lumpkin Co.
1 2 3 4 F
G 8 6 12 13 39
L 14 19 16 7 56
GHS scoring: Burnette 10. Chastain 6. Bradshaw, Becerra, Griggs, KateLynn Carder 5. Bramlett 3. Rebs.: Griggs 5. Becerra 4. Bramlett, Chastain, Burnette, Jaylee McDaniel 2. Bradshaw, Riblet, Carder 1. Assts.: Burnette, McDaniel 3. Chastain, Griggs 2. Bramlett, Becerra 1. Stls.: Chastain 4. Becerra 2. Ray, McDaniel, Griggs 1. Blks.: Bramlett 2.
Jan. 27 at Fannin Co.
1 2 3 4 F
G 9 12 14 15 50
F 12 14 16 14 56
GHS scoring: Griggs 15. Burnette 9. Ray 8. Chastain, Bradshaw 7. Riblet, Becerra 2.