The Gilmer Lady Cats’ season came to an end sooner than expected.
GHS entered the Class 3A state tournament as the No. 16 seed and hosted No. 17 White County last Tuesday. Open shots were tough to come by for the Cats, but they were still able to overtake the Warriors late in the third period. However, with the game in the balance, turnovers spoiled the Cats’ chances in a 50-40 loss.
“We didn’t shoot it particularly well (28 percent),” said head coach David Dowse. “They were shooting well and we weren’t. The biggest reason, in my opinion, was that they were contesting shots, getting a hand in our face and we weren’t.
“We try to talk about how a contested shot is not a good shot. I was really hoping that we’d create for our teammates a little bit more like we had against Northwest Whitfield in the region tournament. We kind of reverted back to the, ‘I’m going to do it myself and take the load on my own shoulders.’ Every time we do that, we just don’t score very well.”
Gilmer struggled from outside where the Cats made 5/27 three-point attempts. GHS missed its initial 12 three-point shots and made the first with 1:33 left in the opening half. Meanwhile, WCHS hit 8/20 from long distance and was more selective with its shots. Seven Warriors scored at least five points.
“A couple of their kids that haven’t been great shooters all year, they were against us,” Dowse said. “Kids that don’t normally knock those down hit a few in a row, but they spread them out too. They hit eight and they spread them out pretty good.”
White only attempted eight shots in the first quarter, and Gilmer’s defense forced a pair of shot clock violations through eight minutes. All of the Warriors’ points came from beyond the three-point arc, and they clung to a 9-8 lead.
GHS made just two shots from the field in the second quarter and was 1/9 from outside. White’s offense picked up for a 23-15 lead at the half.
The Cats started to claw their way back in the third. Bree Burnette scored five and Chelsey Griggs, Paula Robertson and Jace Sanderson also added points for GHS. Burnette and Sanderson both hit threes to help spark a 13-4 run.
The Cats committed their first turnover of the second half with 3:13 on the third-quarter clock, trailing 30-28. Three more followed to close out the quarter, and six more turnovers came in the fourth. GHS was outscored 20-12 over that span as WCHS put the game away.
“The most disappointing part is we fought back, we took a lead and then we just folded,” Dowse said. “When the game’s on the line, it comes down to who is going to be the bigger competitor in that moment and it was White County.”
Sanderson scored 12 and Burnette added 10. Robertson, Griggs and Taylor all scored six. Robertson led the way with 11 rebounds and Sanderson grabbed six.
GHS was ranked in the top 10 for much of the season, but fell shy of some seasonal goals. The Cats ended the year with a 16-11 record.
“This is a great group of girls. I told them that after the season was over. I mean, I thoroughly enjoy being around them and going to practice and enjoy them individually,” Dowse said. “I’m disappointed because I do think we underachieved. I don’t think we, based on our talent — and it comes back to me because I’m the man in charge — but we did not fulfill our potential.
“I hope it’s a lesson that everyone can learn and take something from moving forward, but in the moment, it’s pretty disappointing.”