The Gilmer High Lady Cats wrapped up their basketball season at the annual region tournament.
The Cats were at Wesleyan last Monday to take on the No. 7 ranked White County Warriors. Gilmer had one of its best quarters of the season to begin the game before the Warriors got some breathing room ahead of the half. White was able to increase its lead over the final two quarters for a 68-41 win.
While GHS found itself on the losing end to White for the third time, head coach Dani Wright was happy to see improvement in their latest meeting.
“I thought we scored the ball pretty well and we started off strong, too,” she said. “I thought we handled their press very well, and we didn’t give up many transition buckets, which was really nice. The past two times they beat us by over 42 points and this time it was 27. It wasn’t a win, but we saw a lot of progress
“Lucy Ray had an awesome night offensively. She helped us out big time, and I thought the girls did a better job of getting to the basket.”
Ray led GHS with 14 points and scored five in the first quarter. WCHS was able to force 32 turnovers on the night, and even though the Cats committed nine in the first quarter, they kept pace.
Charley Poteet pitched in five points in the first as well, and Aliza Chastain added four. White took a 20-16 lead into the second where the Cats’ offense hit a snag.
GHS was limited to a pair of made field goals while six different Warriors helped them build a lead. White’s Naomi Roberts scored six of her team-high 20 points in the second, and GHS fell behind 40-23 at halftime.
Gilmer’s double-digit third was aided by Chastain’s six points and Ray’s four. The Warriors continued to share the ball and enjoyed a 55-34 edge with eight minutes to play.
Ray made a three pointer in the fourth, and their remaining four points came from the free-throw line. Roberts scored six more as WCHS pushed its lead to 27 points.
Poteet added six points on the night and Sophia Riblet scored four. Maddie Wright, Marley Boatwright and Amayah Jones all scored two points. Wright and Jones added four rebounds and Madison Bradshaw grabbed six boards.
Gilmer finished the season with a 6-20 record. Eight of the Lady Cats’ 12 region games were versus teams ranked in the top six in Class 3A.
“I thought we got better as the season went along . . . even from the middle of the season on,” Wright said. “I’m proud of them for learning and catching on and playing good defense.
“It was a challenging year because of who we played in our region. I know a lot of people see wins and losses only, but they’re playing some of the best competition they’ve ever played. They didn’t fold and kept playing and we got better.”