The Gilmer High Lady Cats are back in the second round of the Class 4A basketball state tournament.
GHS punched its second round ticket last Friday when the Cats hosted the No. 9 ranked Stephens County Indians.
Gilmer built a first-quarter lead before Stephens slipped ahead at the half. The Indians still maintained a small edge headed into the final quarter where the Cats took control for a 65-56 victory.
Gilmer coach Susan Nunn discussed the game and the Cats’ achievement of reaching the next round.
“The last time we made it to the second round was five years ago,” she said. “It’s something that does not happen often, so it’s something to definitely be proud of, and I know my girls are.
“It was a very good Stephens County team, and we had two or three minutes of lapses in our play, but other than that, we played very strong the entire game.”
One key for GHS was limiting Stephens’ deep threat.
“In the first film I watched of them, all five starters made a three pointer in the first few minutes of the game,” Nunn said. “They hit five against us and put up several. We wanted to make sure we had a hand in their face on all their players we thought might hit a three. Our defense was all about pressure the entire game.”
Emma Callihan scored a season-high 24 points and was joined in double figures by Bailey Teague (14) and Elly Callihan (12).
Fourteen of Emma Callihan’s points came in the first half, and 10 were scored in the opening quarter where she drained two three-pointers. Elly Callihan netted six points and Teague added four more as GHS opened a 22-14 lead.
Nina Eades led Stephens with 19 points, and she tallied 11 in the second quarter to spearhead the Indians’ offense. Teague and Emma Callihan both scored four points in the second. Emma Deyton, who missed the entire season with an injury, entered the game and added two more.
Stephens led 33-32 at the half and extended its lead in the third quarter. The Cats were limited to two made field goals as their remaining three points were scored at the foul line.
SCHS bolstered its offense with a pair of threes and pushed its lead to 43-40 with eight minutes to play.
GHS went into the post in the fourth. Elly Callihan and Deyton both scored six points, and Beth Burnette knocked down a three pointer. GHS converted seven of eight three-throw attempts to cement its nine-point win.
“Emma’s 14 points kept us going strong in the first half,” Nunn said. “We were 11/13 from the free-throw line so that was definitely a good thing for us, and we sealed the deal in the fourth quarter. Bailey Teague had a great game and was a great floor leader.
“I feel like we had our best rebounding (41 total) game all season. We rebounded well on the offensive and defensive boards.
Seventeen of those rebounds occurred on the offensive end, and GHS scored 15 points off second chances.
Aside from the aforementioned players, Deyton scored eight points on the night, Burnette had three and Jalynn Ledford added two.
GHS will face No. 5 ranked Luella High School Wednesday in the second round, and Nunn spent the weekend watching film in preparation.
“They’re very big and have two post players they list at 6’1” and they look big on film,” she said. “They have a couple of really quick guards out front, and they look like the total package.
“We’re hoping we’re fast enough to hang with them and put some pressure on them and cause some turnovers.”
Tipoff Wednesday at Luella is set for 6 p.m.