The Gilmer High Lady Cats snagged two region wins to improve to 3-0 against Region 6-4A foes this season.
GHS hosted Heritage last Tuesday and rocked the Generals for a 63-30 victory. The Cats traveled to Ridgeland Friday, and it was much of the same for the Panthers as the Cats strolled to an easy 72-21 victory.
“I was happy to get two region wins because we have several coming up so that was a boost for us,” GHS coach Susan Nunn said. “They were wins by pretty good sized margins, so I was pleased with that.”
Versus Heritage, the Cats’ slow second quarter was mitigated by their strong performance in the first.
Lady Cat Elly Callihan scored nine of her team high 16 points in the opening quarter. Teammates Hope Colwell, Beth Burnette, Emma Callihan and Jalynn Ledford provided additional points and GHS stormed to a 20-4 lead.
Elly Callihan and Lark Reece accounted for Gilmer’s only points in the second quarter. Elli Jost gave Heritage’s offense a spark by scoring eight, but GHS still maintained a 24-19 edge at the half.
Gilmer’s Bailey Teague joined in the scoring action in the third as the Cats picked up steam. Eight Lady Cats netted points in the third, while the Generals only made four from the free-throw line.
GHS buried HHS in a 41-23 hole to start the fourth, and the Cats were soon in the bonus. They converted 10/14 free-throw attempts in the final quarter as Heritage’s offense continued to sputter and GHS won decisively.
Teague scored 12 on the night and Emma Callihan had 11. They were followed by Ledford and Colwell with six apiece, Reece and Burnette both scored four, and Jasmine Staley and Reagan Boling each totaled two points.
“Heritage has been tough for about five straight years, and they lost some starters this year,” Nunn said. “They’re kind of in a rebuilding stage, but they do have some hard-working girls. We played well and held them in check the entire game. It’s been a long time since we’ve held Heritage to 30 points.”
The Ridgeland game got out of hand from the start, and there was never any doubt as to who the better team was.
Elly Callihan scored 28 points and grabbed 16 rebounds on the night, and she had 10 points in the first quarter and eight more in the second. Ledford was also there for five post points in the first half while Colwell, Burnette and Teague all made three pointers.
Gilmer’s 24-7 lead after the first quarter turned into a 51-12 edge by the half. Emma Callihan scored eight of her 10 points in the third, and the fourth quarter was shortened to five minutes because of the Cats’ 65-18 advantage.
GHS added 10 more points in the fourth en route to another lopsided victory.
“We knew going in it should be a win for us,” Nunn said. “Ridgeland has been struggling with a lot of younger girls this season.
“What I was looking for was for us to come in and take care of business and not slack. We showed we can dominate when we’re supposed to dominate. Elly had a phenomenal game, and it was a game where everybody was clicking. ”
Burnette scored eight, Colwell, Teague and Ledford added seven points apiece. Both Anne Elise Williams and Reece scored four.
Gilmer improved its overall record to 6-2, and they are 3-0 versus region opponents.
Junior varsity
The junior varsity Lady Cats used a balanced scoring effort in their 53-38 win over Heritage.
Behind Lark Reece’s 11 points were Brooke Wilson’s 10 as both Maddie Wright and Reagan Bolling added nine.
After falling behind 16-14 after a quarter, GHS pulled ahead 27-24 at halftime.
GHS outscored HHS 15-9 in the third quarter and the Cats continued to add to their lead in the fourth for their 15-point win.
Remaining GHS scorers included Charley Poteet with six and both Anna Waddell and Kailyn Hadden with four.