The Gilmer High Lady Cats closed out the ETC/Piedmont Mountainside Tip-off Tournament against two of its oldest rivals.
GHS hosted Fannin County last Monday in the second round, and the visiting Lady Rebels’ offense was difficult for the Cats to contain. FCHS extended its lead through the first three quarters to earn a 69-36 win.
The Pickens game Tuesday followed a similar pattern as the Cats were forced to play from behind. The Dragonettes got hot from outside and built a decisive lead before reserves took the court in the fourth. PHS concluded the tournament with the championship and a 76-39 victory.
“There were some things that I saw that I liked and some things that we need to improve,” said head coach Dani Wright. “Starting off (in the opening round) against Copper Basin, we didn’t show up in the first half, but we came out in the second half, and the girls realized what their potential could be.
“Fannin and Pickens are really good teams, and with our region, it’s crazy how good it is. Coming in with this crazy schedule, it gets tough early. I was more proud with the Pickens game because they came out and actually went with the game plan more so than against Fannin.”
Fannin went inside for 26 points and also hit eight three pointers. While the Cats snagged eight steals on the night, their 22 turnovers were converted into 24 Rebel points.
Gilmer’s nine first quarter turnovers allowed Fannin to open a 21-9 lead, which stood at 45-22 by halftime. GHS made just three shots from the field in the third quarter where Fannin’s Courtney Davis scored 11 of her team high 22 points.
GHS fell behind 68-28 with a quarter to play. Fannin pulled its starters for the fourth en route to the win.
Lucy Ray led GHS with 11 points and six came in the second quarter. Sophia Riblet added nine points, Maddie Wright scored five as both Amayah Jones and Aliza Chastain finished with four and Anna Waddell had three. Chastain led GHS with six rebounds.
Gilmer was able to cut down on its turnovers versus Pickens but still had trouble getting shots to fall to keep pace with the Dragonettes. PHS drained seven of its 10 three pointers in the first half to bolster its offense.
The Cats trailed 21-9 after the first and 42-25 entering the half. Pickens continued to spread the ball around in the third and had five players score at least nine points in the game. Pickens’ lead swelled to 67-37 to begin the fourth as it cruised to victory.
GHS had a solid post presence with 20 points as Jones and Ray were the top scorers with 11 and seven points, respectively.
Ray also collected seven rebounds on the night. Remaining GHS points were scored by Riblet (five), Wright (four), Waddell and Charley Poteet (three), Chastain, Madison Bradshaw and Marley Boatwright (two).
“We’ll keep harping on defense and getting better that way. We need to clean up our turnovers big time,” Wright said.
“One thing I really enjoyed seeing is we did a really good job of getting steals, but our turnovers kind of leveled that out. We also need to finish better with contact around the rim, but the good thing is, the only way we can go is up.”
Fannin slips by JV Cats
The junior varsity Cats faced Fannin for their portion of the tournament and fell, 34-30.
Both teams got off to a slow start and only scored seven combined points in the first quarter. GHS pushed its three-point lead to a 17-11 halftime advantage. GHS only scored four in the third as the Rebels still trailed 21-19 entering the fourth.
FCHS saved its best quarter for the end and tallied 15 points. The Cats got their offense back in gear but fell four points shy at the end.
Bree Burnette led the way for Gilmer with seven points and Gracie Pritchett added six. Gilmer’s remaining offense came from J.B. Queen (four), Addie Vick and Gracie Gaitanoglou (three), Arifah Jones, Chelsey Griggs and Katelynn Carder (two) and Carly Becerra (one).