The Gilmer Lady Cats returned to the court for a pair of basketball games last week.
GHS began its region schedule Tuesday at home against the Southeast Whitfield Raiders and shrugged off a slow start before rolling to a 57-41 win.
The Cats were on the road two days later in Murphy, N.C., and dropped a nonregion game to the Bulldogs, 61-59.
Gilmer led Southeast 17-14 after a quarter before clamping down defensively to enjoy a 31-17 advantage at the half.
“We finally picked it up in the second quarter,” coach Susan Nunn said. “I think it (slow start) was maybe because of our week off. We didn’t practice Wednesday, Thursday or Friday (during the Thanksgiving holiday) and practiced Saturday. I felt like we didn’t have any consistency and couldn’t get in a groove today. We finally got ahead and maintained the lead once we got there.
“If we were going to have a slow night, this was probably the night to do it (against Southeast).”
Hope Colwell, Beth Burnette and Bailey Teague all hit a three in the first half while post player Elly Callihan scored 12. In the second half, the Raiders altered their defensive approach to slow Callihan.
“Elly was strong for us tonight,” Nunn said. “She had a great shooting first half, and they put her on the line consistently in the second half.”
Callihan did not score a point from the field in the second half but did manage a 6/10 shooting performance from the line in the third quarter.
The Cats led 42-26 entering the fourth where fouls mounted for both teams. Eighteen total free throws were shot in the fourth, and GHS made 7/14 attempts while the Raiders shot 2/4.
Southeast never drew closer than 13 points in the final quarter, and GHS claimed its first region win of the season.
Elly Callihan led GHS with 18 points. Teague scored nine and Emma Callihan added eight.
Versus Murphy, the Bulldogs drained eight three pointers on the night and five players scored at least nine points.
“It was a close one all the way through,” Nunn said. “They’re a big team and had a 6’ 1” post who is built a lot like Elly except with about 20 more pounds on her. They had a point guard that had a pretty big body as well and she was a very good outside shooter.
“They were a lot bigger than us and maybe faster than us, too. We played probably the best game of our season even though we came out with a loss. Their big guard hit two three pointers on us pretty quick in the first quarter and they got up. From that point forward, we played solid defense on them.”
The score was tied after a quarter, and Murphy nudged ahead 28-27 at the half. No three pointers fell for MHS in the third, and the Cats pulled ahead, 46-40.
Murphy secured some important rebounds in the fourth to eke out a two-point win.
“We made a good run on them in the third quarter and had several steals and were in a much better rhythm,” Nunn said. “Elly Callihan and Bailey Teague both scored some good baskets for us.
“They got two or three offensive rebounds on us that turned the tide for them and put them back in the lead.”
Teague scored 21 points and shot 9/11 from the free-throw line. Elly Callihan added 13 points, and Colwell, Emma Callihan and Jalynn Ledford all tallied eight points apiece.
GHS is 4-2 overall and hosted Heritage at press deadline. The Cats will make their way to Ridgeland Friday for a 7 p.m. game.
Junior varsity
The junior varsity Lady Cats played Tuesday and delivered a 43-29 loss to Southeast Whitfield.
GHS led 20-16 at the half, and Southeast trimmed that to 27-26 by the end of the third. However, the Cats’ offense came alive in the fourth as the Raiders struggled to score.
Gilmer tallied 16 points in the quarter while holding the Raiders to three to secure its 14-point victory.
GHS scoring summary: Lark Reece (10), Maddie Wright and Reagan Boling (nine), Brooke Wilson (seven), Charley Poteet (six) and Anna Waddell (two).