The Gilmer High Lady Cats met an old rival with a trophy on the line.
The Cats were in Fannin County last Saturday to wrap up the Piedmont Mountainside Holiday Classic, and the host Lady Rebels held on at the end. The hotly-contested game did not lack physical play, and FCHS overtook the Cats in the fourth quarter for a 55-50 victory.
A day prior, the Cats took on Copper Basin. GHS led by 14 points at the half and maintained its lead over the final two quarters for a 62-47 win.
Head coach David Dowse discussed the rivalry tilt, noting, “I felt like we played OK. I felt pretty good about (our early fourth quarter lead). I’m kind of disappointed we didn’t finish it off, but they’re a good team.
“In the end, we didn’t have quite enough. We play hard, but I don’t always feel like we compete as hard. We run hard and play hard, but that competitive fire to say, ‘We’re not going to lose,’ we’ve got to find that somewhere and we will. We’ll get there.”
Each team hit two three pointers in the first period, and FCHS also fed the post for close-range points. GHS did not lead in the quarter, but Jaylee McDaniel’s offensive rebound and putback cut the Rebels’ lead to 17-14 at the buzzer.
Gilmer had difficulties getting shots to fall early, which persisted in the second quarter. The Cats committed 10 turnovers on the day, and six came in the eight minutes before halftime. The Rebels struggled as well on the offensive end but held a 28-22 edge at the half.
FCHS hit a pair of three pointers to start the second half, and they opened a 10-point lead. However, GHS threes by Bree Burnette, Paula Robertson and Jace Sanderson reeled the Rebels back in, 38-36.
The Cats entered the fourth trailing, 41-38, and promptly went on a run to slip ahead, 44-41. However, a 9-0 scoring spurt by Fannin put the Cats back behind by six. Over the final 2:30, Gilmer never got closer than four points.
Sanderson scored 16 points, and Chelsey Griggs was there for 10 points and nine rebounds. Both Burnette and Robertson added eight points, while Aliza Chastain and McDaniel had four apiece. Robertson and Sanderson both collected five boards.
Copper Basin made 53 percent of its shots from the field, while GHS shot at a 36 percent rate. The game came down to turnovers, and Copper Basin committed 32, which the Cats turned into 27 points. The turnover disparity led to 33 more shots for Gilmer.
The Cats led 21-13 after a quarter and 40-26 at halftime. CBHS trimmed Gilmer’s lead to 49-38 entering the fourth where GHS pushed the margin back to 15 points.
Sanderson and Robertson led the way with 23 and 15 points, respectively. They were followed by Chastain (eight), Griggs (six), McDaniel (four), Madison Bradshaw (three) and Grace Bramlett and Burnette (two apiece).
Chastain added five assists and four steals. Rebounding leaders included Robertson (seven), Sanderson and Griggs (six each) and Bradshaw (five). Bradshaw and Sanderson both had four steals, and Burnette and Griggs finished with three each.
Gilmer posted a 2-1 tournament record, and Dowse shared his thoughts overall.
“I thought we looked really good against Lumpkin. That was our best game out of the three,” he said. “Versus Copper Basin, we played pretty well, but we weren’t as good defensively as we had been.
“With Fannin, I felt like we had a pretty good plan going in and a good scouting report that would put us in position to win. We just had some mental lapses there with what we were trying to do with some particular individuals, and it cost us in the end.”
GHS is 5-6 and hosted Fannin at press deadline. The Cats host LaFayette Saturday at 4 p.m.