The Gilmer Lady Cats are in sole possession of first place in the region standings.
The No. 9 ranked Cats hosted No. 4 Ridgeland (16-3) last Tuesday, and the outcome was the same as their first meeting. Back in December, GHS gave RHS its first loss of the season. The Panthers’ guard duo kept them in the game. Gilmer’s strong third quarter gave the Cats some breathing room, and they held off the Panthers in the end for a 59-54 win.
The Cats were at Calhoun (3-16) Friday, and the game was over shortly after tipoff. The Cats built a 15-point first-quarter lead and ran away for an easy victory, 53-19.
The Ridgeland win marked the Panthers’ second loss of the season before they also fell Friday to Heritage. Mak Taylor led Gilmer with 17 points, and she drained five three pointers. Paula Robertson scored 13 and Jace Sanderson added 12. JaMiah Lewis and Jordyn Thomas tallied 20 and 18 points, respectively, for Ridgeland.
“I thought it was great. We obviously we knew, especially after that second Adairsville game, that Ridgeland was, I’m not going to say it was a must win, but it was really important,” head coach David Dowse said. “I was really proud of the way the girls responded. We talk about it from time to time, their ability to stick to a game plan and a scouting report, and I thought they did a great job. Paula (Robertson) played outstanding and some others did as well.”
Gilmer committed 23 turnovers, which led to 22 Panther points. RHS outscored the Cats in transition (20-4) and in the post (28-16). Gilmer won the rebounding battle (43-33), and 15 offensive boards were converted into 12 second-chance points.
RHS built an early lead and was ahead by five in the final minute of the first quarter. A Panther technical foul and four made free throws cut their lead to 13-12.
Lewis and Thomas continued to power RHS in the second, and Taylor hit two of her five threes. Robertson, Sanderson, Bree Burnette and Chelsey Griggs also added points for the Cats, who led 27-23 at the half.
Gilmer shot well in the third as threes continued to rain down. Robertson and Burnette both made a pair, and Taylor hit another. GHS added four points in the post for a 46-37 lead entering the final quarter.
A Taylor three pointer started the fourth for GHS before a 13-2 RHS run cut Gilmer’s lead to 51-50 with four minutes to play. A GHS turnover and RHS basket gave the Panthers a brief lead before Taylor snatched it back with another three pointer.
Both Taylor and Burnette secured defensive rebounds over the final 1:33 to end RHS possessions. Burnette also added three more points, and Sanderson hit a free throw to extend and cement Gilmer’s five-point win.
Griggs grabbed nine rebounds and was followed by Burnette (eight), Taylor (seven) and Robertson (six). Burnette provided five assists, and Griggs finished with four.
Sanderson and Robertson scored 17 and 13 points, respectively, against Calhoun, and both pulled down eight rebounds. Burnette scored nine to go with five assists. Griggs collected seven rebounds and scored four.
Gilmer put the game away early. The Yellow Jackets made only four shots from the field, and their 18 turnovers led to 19 points for the Cats.
Gilmer started the game with a 17-2 run and coasted to the win. GHS turned its 13-point lead after a quarter into a 33-5 halftime advantage. The Cats were up 49-11 headed into the fourth, which was shortened to six minutes because of point differential.
“Calhoun is down a little bit this year and they lost their best player to an injury. We’ve also got to show up to those games and play. We talk about playing to our standard and not play to your opponent. I thought we did that so I was really pleased,” Dowse said.
Gilmer is 13-7 overall and hosted LaFayette (16-5) at press deadline. No. 5 Murray County (15-4) will be in town Friday for a 7 p.m. game.