The Gilmer Lady Cats closed out the regular basketball season and secured a state tournament spot in the process.
GHS was in LaFayette (17-10) last Tuesday, and the Cats delivered the knockout punch in the fourth quarter. Gilmer had another strong defensive effort, and points were tough to come by for LHS. The Cats were up by nine with a quarter to play, where they extended their lead to 63-33.
“I was very, very happy. We played well the whole game, especially defensively, which was good because, as we had talked before, I didn’t think we did that,” said head coach David Dowse. “We didn’t take care of that end of the court very well (Feb. 6) Friday (versus Northwest). We did versus LaFayette and really, it maybe could have been more lopsided.”
GHS finished second in the standings and will enter the region tournament as the No. 2 seed. They will receive a bye to the semifinals, which guarantees a top-four finish and state berth.
“I feel good about it,” Dowse said of their state tournament accomplishment. “I hope that this game kind of kicks us back into the right direction of playing the style of basketball that we believe we’re capable of and have shown.”
Paula Robertson scored 21 points for the Cats to go with four steals and four rebounds. Mak Taylor added 14 points and four assists and Jace Sanderson finished with 10 points.
GHS limited the Ramblers to a 29 percent effort from the field, and they made only 11 shots on the night. The Cats forced 24 turnovers and cashed them in for 23 points.
GHS hit a trio of three pointers in the first quarter, and Sanderson led the way with five points. Gilmer entered the second with a 19-8 edge, but points were tougher to come by. The Cats maintained a 26-16 lead at the half, which was trimmed to 39-30 with eight minutes to play.
Gilmer made 9/13 attempts in the fourth, and four were from behind the three-point arc. Robertson was there for 10 points, Taylor contributed six and Sanderson added five more. LHS committed 11 turnovers in the fourth and attempted only five shots as the Cats rolled to the 30-point win.
“We didn’t shoot it very well in the first three quarters, and then we started getting hot in the fourth quarter and kind of pulled away there,” Dowse said. “We were up nine at the end of three, but once we started making shots, we got away from them.”
GHS is 15-9 on the season and will take the court at Calhoun Wednesday at 4 p.m. versus Ridgeland (21-3).
Dowse hopes the Cats learned from last year’s region tournament as they look to improve their seeding heading into state.
“We told the girls there are three seasons (regular, region and state tournaments) in basketball, and season one is over and we’ve got to move on and get ready,” he said. “I feel good about it. I don’t think there’s anything, other than just preparing for the next opponent, that we haven’t seen or aren’t going to be ready for.
“We just have to come to play. There’s another gear that last year we didn’t really understand, and we got beat twice in the region tournament. I hope we’ve learned our lesson and understand anyone can win on any given night, and you’ve got to bring it.”