The Gilmer High Lady Cats captured the tip-off tournament title to start their basketball season.
GHS hosted the ETC/Piedmont Mountainside Tip-off Tournament Nov. 20, 22-23 and downed a pair of old rivals on its way to the championship.
After disposing of Copper Basin in the first round, Gilmer trounced the Fannin County Lady Rebels 70-45 before a sound 62-46 defeat of the Pickens Dragonettes.
GHS head coach Susan Nunn discussed the Cats’ championship and what it meant to accomplish the feat in its own gym.
“Especially on our home court, it’s a big deal for them to be able to stand in front of their home crowd as the champs,” she said. “Against Fannin and Pickens, as we say every time, it really doesn’t matter what’s going on during the year. It’s so competitive during this tournament, and everybody plays so well I guess because it is a rivalry up and down Hwy. 515 here.”
While the three schools used to reside in the same region, today they are not even in the same classification. Fannin competes in Class 2A, Gilmer just dropped down to 3A, and Pickens is one of the largest schools in 4A.
“This tournament starts us off in a really good fashion,” Nunn said. “It gets us ready for our first game of quick play with all the pressure defenses (we face) and everything like that. I’m super proud to get that win on our home court. For these girls who have been three- and four-year starters, for them to end their last ETC tournament that way, I was very proud of them.”
Rebels routed
Fannin unleashed a barrage of three points in the first half and made eight. But as those outside shots stopped falling in the second half, the Rebels faded.
GHS concentrated its offense inside where Elly Callihan scored 13 of her 23 points in the first half. Lark Reece was there to add points in the paint as guards Hope Colwell, Beth Burnette and Emma Callihan gave GHS a balanced attack.
The Rebels’ outside potency allowed them to take a 36-32 lead at the half.
“They’re definitely a three-point shooting team, and we knew that coming in, but they were exceptionally hot tonight. They were not missing in the first half,” said Nunn.
“When we went in at halftime we said, ‘They’re not going to stay that hot the whole night so we need to make sure we’re getting rebounds.’ That was one thing we were not doing in the first half, and they were getting a second opportunity.”
Emma Callihan and Burnette drained threes for GHS to begin the third quarter to tie the game at 38-all. The Cats snagged seven steals over the final 6:15 of the quarter for quick, easy points to supplement their half court offense en route to a 20-0 run.
“We changed it up a little bit of where we were setting up on the floor,” Nunn said of the Cats’ press. “We had some success with that, got them out of their rhythm and then they stopped hitting baskets. In the fourth quarter, we went zone in the half court on them and that seemed to really frustrate them.”
Gilmer entered the fourth ahead, 58-40. Colwell spent much of the night attacking the lane when not scoring in transition. She added four more points in the fourth to bring her tally to 17 for the game.
Fannin hit its first three pointer since the second quarter and limped to five points over the final eight minutes as GHS cruised to a 25-point win.
Burnette finished the game with 11 points, Reece scored seven and Emma Callihan added six. Emma Deyton led GHS with 10 rebounds, Elly Callihan collected seven and Reece had six.
“In the first half our post players were trying to force it a little bit and create something that wasn’t there. We did a job better in the second half of waiting on our opportunity and not trying to force that first pass in,” Nunn said. “Our guards did a good job of lighting it up with Hope Colwell taking it to the basket.”
Pickens dies by the three
Much like Fannin, Pickens relied heavily on three-point shots. The Dragonettes launched them all night but were not efficient, making just four in each half.
Additionally, Pickens substituted five new players roughly every minute throughout the entire game and tried to smoother the Cats with a full court press.
“They live and die by the three and really don’t have post presence right now,” Nunn said. “They had someone running across the middle, but she very seldom got the ball. We knew it was all about the outside shot.
“We went into a 2-3 zone in the first half to just kind of give us a little bit of a break defensively because we knew how they were going to run and run on both sides of the ball. We were making sure we were going to last. It seemed to work against them, and that’s pretty much what we stayed in the rest of the game after that.”
Elly Callihan picked up two fouls in the first quarter. She went to the bench midway through and did not return until a minute left before the half.
Deyton picked up the slack and scored 10 points in the first half. Emma Callihan added eight more in transition, and Burnette hit a pair of threes.
Pickens added four two-point field goals to go with its quartet of threes in the first half. GHS led 16-13 after a quarter and 33-24 at the break.
Six different players made a shot for Pickens in the third as Elly Callihan returned and went to work for 10 points in the quarter. Gilmer extended its lead to 46-31 with a quarter to play.
Gilmer continued to beat the Dragonettes’ press in the fourth quarter for transition points as the Cats’ lead continued to widen.
“We’ve seen their press now for two years and kind of know what to expect,” Nunn said. “They hope they can wear everyone down and shock you with how in your face they are and how much they over play. We talk constantly about staying calm and it being a mental game against them.
“Even though we don’t have as many players to run in and out, we try to make sure we’re in shape for the long haul and they did a good job.”
Elly Callihan finished the night with 22 points. Deyton scored 14 and hauled in 13 rebounds. Emma Callihan finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Burnette added seven points, Colwell scored six and Brooke Wilson had two.
GHS is 3-0 and traveled to Union County at press deadline.