The Gilmer High Lady Cats will be back in the state basketball tournament next week thanks to their strong regular season performance.
When the Cats defeated the Northwest Whitfield Bruins 46-44 last Tuesday, it gave them an 11-1 record versus region opponents. It also granted GHS the No. 1 seed in this week’s region tournament, and the Cats will not take the court until Thursday’s semifinals.
“It (beating Northwest)was big because we get that automatic bid into state and a bye in the first round of the region tournament,” coach Susan Nunn said. “That’s a big moment for us, and it’s been a few years since Gilmer’s had that moment. I’m very proud of them.
“We talked about maintaining our composure and keeping our emotions in check and just playing smart. For the most part, we did that. We missed some free throws (5/13) at the end that could have made it much easier on us. Overall, I was very pleased with their leadership and play on the court.”
The Bruins jumped to a 9-2 lead to begin the game before the Cats reeled them back. GHS looked inside where Jalynn Ledford scored six in the first half. Emma Callihan was there for six more and both Bailey Teague and Beth Burnette made three pointers.
Northwest made five two-point field goals through the first half and kept pace with GHS by sinking three shots from behind the three-point arc to go with a 9/9 performance from the free-throw line.
NHS led 12-9 after a quarter and 28-24 at the half.
“They came out strong, and we knew it was going to be neck and neck,” Nunn said. “It was one of those games that if you get behind, you can’t lose composure. You’ve got to know you’re going to get back in the game. We did it several times and they did it several times.”
Both teams scraped for points in the third and Elly Callihan scored all six for GHS. The Bruins extended their lead to 37-30 with a quarter to play.
After two quick free throws by Northwest, Gilmer went on a 15-2 run to get back in it and pull ahead 45-40 with 1:35 left in the game. Missed GHS free throws kept Northwest close, and the Bruins had two chances to tie the game in the waning moments.
Four straight points by Bruin Tionna Baker drew them with one before Teague made one of two from the foul line.
Behind 46-44, Baker took the ball the length of the court with less that 10 seconds to play, but missed right before the buzzer, and the ball rolled out of bounds.
The referees put five tenths of a second back on the clock, and NHS inbounded the ball, but Baker could not corral it underneath the basket as time expired.
Elly Callihan and Ledford each scored 12 points. Burnette and Emma Callihan added eight apiece and Teague scored six.
LaFayette defeated Heritage Monday in the first round of the region tournament. Gilmer will take the court versus LaFayette Thursday at 7 p.m. at Southeast Whitfield High School.
Nunn discussed the week ahead and plans to bring in additional players for practice.
“LaFayette has a lot of speed and athleticism, so they match up well with us and are actually more athletic than we are,” she said. “We need to be ready for that speed, so I’ll probably have some JV boys come in this week to practice to make us play a little faster.”
Gilmer’s overall record is 16-6.