The Gilmer Lady Cats are on a five-game winning streak with their latest two region victories.
GHS made the trek to Ridgeland last Tuesday, and the bottom-of-the-region Panthers endured their ninth region loss of the season. The Cats led from wire to wire and rolled to a 65-35 win.
The Calhoun Yellow Jackets were in town Friday, and the GHS gym was rocking all evening. The Cats had enough for 32 minutes and then some, and after a pair of overtime periods, GHS handed the Jackets their third region loss of the season, 59-52.
Head coach David Dowse assessed the Cats versus Ridgeland, who were buoyed by Sha Elliott’s 23 points.
“We played well offensively,” he said. “Defensively, we were OK. They have one kid (Elliott) who is pretty shifty and we had a tough time bottling her up. We wanted to keep it out of her right hand, and we didn’t do a good job of that. It was never a situation where we weren’t going to win the game, but that piece of being able to bottle her up, we weren’t very good with that, and that’s a little concerning.”
While Gilmer defeated Ridgeland, Lady Cat Paula Robertson was injured in the process. The versatile junior is the team’s second leading scorer and No. 2 rebounder.
The Cats’ defensive prowess proved to be too much for the Panthers, who made just 30 percent of their shots from the field and turned the ball over 18 times. The Cats took those defensive follies and turned them into 26 points.
Meanwhile, nearly half of Gilmer’s points (30) were scored inside the paint. The Cats added six three pointers to keep RHS off balance defensively.
Gilmer put the game out of reach almost immediately with its 24-5 lead after a quarter, which stood at 38-16 by halftime. The Cats continued to throttle the Panthers in the third to push its lead to 55-27, and the fourth quarter was cut to six minutes.
Chelsey Griggs scored 18 for the Cats and was the leading rebounder as well with seven. Robertson was there for 15 points, and Bree Burnette scored 10, while Madison Bradshaw and Jace Sanderson had nine and seven, respectively.
The Calhoun matchup was a defensive struggle as neither team shot above 36 percent. GHS committed 20 turnovers compared to 27 for CHS.
The Cats held the lead for much of the game and were ahead 13-10 after a quarter. Their halftime advantage stood at 24-20, and Gilmer clung to a 32-31 lead with eight minutes to play.
GHS led 45-41 with a minute left in regulation. A short jumper by Sa’Niah Dorsey followed, and the Jackets had a final possession with time winding down. This time Allie Duke drove the lane and hit a floater right before the buzzer to tie the score at 45-all and force overtime.
CHS relied on Dorsey almost exclusively while a Griggs three pointer tied the score at 51-51 with a minute on the clock. CHS had the ball again with 10 seconds remaining, but the Lady Cats’ defense did not allow the Jackets to get off a shot.
The second overtime began with the score tied, 52-52.
Sanderson knocked down a three for the Cats before Griggs dove to the basket for two more. A Burnette free throw put GHS ahead 58-53 with 22 seconds on the clock. The Jackets scored two more after a GHS turnover, but Sanderson hit a final free throw to cement the win.
“I’m really proud of the girls,” Dowse said. “We led the entire game until that first overtime when we relinquished the lead. To have the wherewithal and grit to dig a little deeper and find a way to win was pretty impressive, especially the first game without Paula.
“No single player on the roster is going to give us what Paula gives us, but collectively, I felt like we could. Madison Bradshaw, Jaylee McDaniel and Grace Bramlett got in there a little bit. They did a great job, and I thought Bree was fantastic. We ask a lot out of her and she’s usually guarding their best guard and has to handle the basketball. She was our leading scorer and guarded their all-state point guard (Dorsey). What doesn’t show up in the box score is she is a great screener. She laid the wood to some people.”
Burnette added four rebounds and four assists. Sanderson scored 16, Griggs had 10, and both Chastain and McDaniel finished with six. Griggs grabbed eight rebounds, Bradshaw got seven and Chastain had five.
GHS is 12-7 overall and 6-2 in the region, which puts the Cats in second place in the standings.
Gilmer traveled to LaFayette at press deadline and will make its way to Murray County Friday for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
JV wins two more
The junior varsity Cats played three games over a two-day stretch and found themselves on the losing side for the first time this season.
The Cats hosted all three matchups, and they stung the Calhoun Yellow Jackets last Friday, 49-28. Gilmer hosted Pickens the following day and sent the Dragonettes back to Jasper with a 57-35 loss. White County defeated Gilmer, 42-36, for its first loss of the season. The Cats’ record now stands at 10-1.
Gilmer got off to another quick start versus Calhoun, which was spearheaded by Makenna Taylor’s three-point barrage. She made three in the first quarter, and Gilmer led 14-6 and 23-17 at the half.
Six Lady Cats scored in the third as their lead stood at 36-25. The Cats held CHS to three points in the fourth to win by 21.
Leading the way offensively were Taylor with 17 points, Madison Hall finished with nine, Ally Phillips had seven and Rosie Everett tallied six.
GHS roasted Pickens the following afternoon as the Dragonettes were down early. The Cats’ strong scoring contingent was led by Phillips (16), Hall (13), Taylor (10) and Jaylee McDaniel (eight).
Gilmer opened a 13-12 edge after the first and were up 21-16 at halftime. GHS pushed its lead to 41-23 after the third on its way to its rivalry win.
Also scoring for GHS were Everett with six, and both Morgan Palmeri and Kenley Thompson scored two.
The game versus White was neck and neck. GHS led 13-11 after a quarter, and the Warriors pulled ahead 22-20 at the break. The Cats regained the lead entering the fourth, 33-32. However, the Cats were held to three free throws, and WCHS won by six.
GHS scoring: Hall (13), Taylor (nine), Phillips (eight), McDaniel (five), Everett (one).