The Gilmer Lady Cats stayed close to home for their round of non-region games.
GHS took on a pair of larger schools at Pickens, and Woodstock was up first on Nov. 22. Gilmer led by 10 at the half, but WHS came back in the third and fourth quarters to force overtime, where the Wolverines won, 48-47.
The Cats were back on the court last Monday against North Cobb. Points were tough to come by for the Cats, who led briefly in the first quarter. NCHS maintained its lead for the remainder of the game and earned a 44-34 victory.
GHS closed out the tournament the following day against rival Pickens. Another shaky second half for the Cats allowed the Dragonettes to pull away late, 42-35.
Head coach David Dowse discussed the Cats’ performance at the event, and he is still waiting for the team to put a complete game together.
“We played some bigger schools. They’re not necessarily going to win the state championship, but they’re bigger and play quality competition. You have to bring your best, and we just didn’t do that for 32 minutes in any of those three games,” he said.
Quality attempts are where the Cats have faltered recently. Dowse has a rating system for shots that range from one through four, with four being the best.
“I broke down film and we’ve made 80 shots through six games, and we score shots based on quality,” Dowse said. “When we score, almost without exception, we’re shooting threes and fours. Unfortunately, we’re taking too many ones and twos, and they’re not good shots.”
Woodstock played catch-up in the first half as the Cats built a 10-point first-quarter lead. GHS was ahead 23-13 at the break before the Wolverines started to chip away at the Cats; advantage.
Gilmer committed eight turnovers in the third as its lead was cut to 34-29. GHS only managed six points in the third, and the score was even at the end of regulation, 40-40. Gilmer made just 2/8 shots from the field in overtime, and WHS slipped ahead for a one-point win.
Jace Sanderson and Mak Taylor were Gilmer’s top scorers with 16 and 13 points respectively, and Paula Robertson added seven. Chelsey Griggs was the Cats’ top rebounder with 11, and Bree Burnette finished with five assists.
Gilmer was 6/14 from three-point land against North Cobb but only made five two-point attempts. The Cats’ 10 points in the second were their most of any quarter. The Warriors took advantage of close-range opportunities and racked up 26 points in the post.
GHS was down 14-8 after a quarter and 23-18 at the half. Neither team lit up the scoreboard in the second half, but NCHS did enough to hold its lead and win by 10.
Sanderson (10) and Taylor (nine) were the top scorers once again, and Burnette added six. Sanderson also pulled down eight rebounds.
The Cats played some tenacious defense in the first quarter against Pickens and went on a 7-0 run to start the game. A PHS three at the buzzer trimmed the Cats’ lead to 13-8.
Gilmer’s lead widened to six points in the second before a quick 5-0 PHS run. Sanderson then scored four straight in the post, and three PHS free throws over the final 1:30 cut the Cats’ lead to 20-18 at halftime.
Points were traded evenly for much of the third, and a Dragonette three pointer in the final minute put the Cats behind entering the fourth, 29-28.
Ellison Steinhower attracted plenty of defensive attention from GHS, which often left shooters open outside. A three two minutes into the fourth followed by two free throws opened Pickens’ lead to 34-29 with four minutes to play.
Burnette drove for two points with 1:14 left in the game to trim the deficit to 37-35. It marked the Cats’ final points, and PHS extended its advantage to seven by game’s end.
“We started off well versus Pickens, but our shot selection isn’t very good and we’re not really playing together as a team,” Dowse said. “Our effort is there, but it’s not smart effort. It’s wild effort.
“The little things we work on all the time in practice, following the scouting report — we have not been paying attention to detail when it matters. We just kind of go through the motions, and instead of dictating things, we just hope they go our way, and they haven’t. We’re going to have to get better or we’re going to have more of the same.”
Sanderson scored 11 and Burnette added 10 points. Griggs collected five rebounds and Taylor had four.
GHS is 1-5 on the season and hosted Union County (2-2) at press deadline. The Cats will head to Adairsville (0-5) Friday for their region opener with tipoff set for 7 p.m.
“We’ll have our hands full with Union,” Dowse said. “They play hard and are pretty young. We beat them last time, but they probably outhustled us, and that’s not OK. I’m excited to play at home and then region starts on Friday.”