The Gilmer Lady Cats found themselves on the losing end of a pair of region basketball games.
GHS was at Heritage (20-4) last Tuesday. The Generals got revenge after the Cats won their first meeting of the season. Gilmer took a three-point lead into the break after a low-scoring first half. The Cats struggled to get shots to fall in the third and never recovered in a 49-37 loss.
Northwest Whitfield (14-8) was in town Friday for senior night. It was an even game through three quarters, but the Bruins built a lead in the fourth and went on to win, 64-51.
“We got out to a strong start. I felt pretty good about our game plan and our energy to start the game, especially defensively,” head coach David Dowse said of the Heritage game.
“That third quarter was bad. Chelsey (Griggs) picked up an early foul and had to sit a bit, and then they went on a run, and we just never really bounced back. They’re a very good defensive team. It comes down to you — you’ve got to be able to execute because they’re going to plug up the paint and they’re not going to let you get to the rim on the drive. You’re going to have to take two hard dribbles and kick it, and do some of those things.”
Freshman Mak Taylor was the lone Lady Cat in double figures with 15 points, which included four three-pointers. Overall, it was a rough shooting night for the Cats at 27 percent, while HHS made 51 percent of its attempts.
The Cats were ahead 9-6 after the first and 20-17 at halftime.
The Generals tied the score at 23-23 late in the third and outpaced GHS 17-5 in the quarter. Once they took the lead, it would not be relinquished. The Cats were down 34-25 to begin the fourth, where the Generals extended their margin of victory to 12 points.
Jace Sanderson scored seven, Griggs added six, Paula Robertson had five, and Bree Burnette finished with four. Griggs was the top rebounder with eight.
“When they went on a little run and got up a few, I think we kind of panicked and got out of the mindset that we needed to execute an offense,” Dowse said. “People are just trying to make individual plays, and it just didn’t happen for us. But credit to them — they’re good. They’re a good team that plays very, very well together, especially defensively.”
GHS defeated Northwest by 24 points the first time they faced each other last month, but the Bruins did not go quietly Friday.
Sanderson scored 13, while Griggs and Robertson contributed 12 and 11, respectively. NHS opened a 10-5 lead, which GHS trimmed to 15-12 by the end of the first.
The teams traded three points to begin the second, and Robertson and Sanderson added points in the post. Points were traded evenly for much of the quarter, and a Griggs basket with 1:30 before halftime moved Gilmer ahead, 29-28.
GHS entered the third quarter with a 31-30 edge. Gilmer made five threes in the first half but only hit one more over the third and fourth quarters.
Sanderson and Robertson both scored four points to start the third. GHS did most of its damage from the free-throw line and only made one shot from the field over the final 5:45 of the quarter.
NHS led 48-45 with eight minutes to play, and shots stopped falling for the Cats. GHS made 2-of-10 attempts in the fourth, which NHS began with five straight points. The Bruins led by as much as 16 points en route to their upset win.
“We gave up 64 points, which is the most they’ve scored all season,” Dowse said. “We scored 51 and that’s not great, but we should win games if we score that much and play defense like we’ve been playing.”
Taylor grabbed five rebounds, and Robertson and Griggs had four each.
Gilmer is 14-9 overall and 8-3 versus region opponents. The Cats traveled to LaFayette (16-9) at press deadline.