When the Gilmer High Lady Cats took care of the basketball, there was little doubt as to who the better team was last Saturday.
GHS squared off against the Pickens Dragonettes to begin the ETC/Piedmont Mountainside Tip-off Tournament, and once the Cats settled in, they put the game away.
PHS applied plenty of defensive pressure and made wholesale substitutions constantly throughout the game. An ice-cold shooting performance in the third put Pickens in a 20-point hole with a quarter to play and the Cats won easily, 71-53.
Gilmer head coach Susan Nunn had a scouting report going into the game and discussed how it unfolded.
“I went to watch Pickens play last night at Gordon Central, and I’ve already seen some film on them, so I knew their game plan is run five players in, run five out and pressure with two and three people on the ball and just try to cause chaos,” she said. “We knew that, but I guess just because the girls had not experienced it yet, they struggled with it a little in the first half.”
Gilmer’s Elly Callihan ruled the post for most of the night, and scored eight of her team-high 24 points in the opening quarter. PHS struggled offensively to start the game and the Cats were quick on the defensive glass to snag rebounds and limit opportunities.
GHS took a 15-6 lead into the second quarter where guards Hope Colwell and Bailey Teague scored 10 and six, respectively.
There were 47 fouls called in the game, and they began to mount before the half. PHS kept pace by hitting four three pointers and seven free throws, and Gilmer’s lead was trimmed to 32-31 by halftime.
The Dragonettes only scored two points through the first 7:30 of the third as their three-point shots stopped falling. The Lady Cats cut down their turnovers, and the offense hummed.
“We finally got our flow going a little bit in the second half,” Nunn said. “In the first half, part of our issue wasn’t so much that Pickens was causing turnovers, but that we were dropping balls right at the basket and missing passes.”
Six different Lady Cats reached the scoring column in the third, and they went on a 22-2 run to all but sink Pickens.
GHS led 56-36 at the onset of the fourth. PHS hit a trio of threes in the final quarter, but never got closer than 19 points until the final minutes of the game as Gilmer slowed its pace.
Aside from Callihan’s 24, Colwell scored 17 points and Teague had 15 for GHS. Mykenzie Weaver led PHS with 19 points but only scored six in the second half.
GHS kick-started its season by beating Sonoraville, who advanced to the Final Four in Class 3A a season ago.
The Cats won 62-56, and Nunn was happy to see how the Cats handled a high-powered offense.
“Sonoraville scored 99 against Pickens, so I knew they could put some points on the board, but I still felt like we had the better overall athletes,” Nunn said. “We did a great job on defense against them by keeping them from getting to the hoop. I was very pleased to see we can keep pace against an athletic, fast-paced team.”
Jalynn Ledford scored 20 points for GHS and Emma Callihan added 18. Elly Callihan finished with 10, and was followed by Colwell with six and Teague’s five.
GHS faced Hiwassee Dam at Monday’s press deadline and will finish the tournament Tuesday against Fannin County.