Mariners Middle School Ballers 1-1

The North Georgia Christen Academy of Ellijay hosted the North Georgia Christen Academy of Gainesville. While the Lady Mariners were victorious, winning 31-17, the boys fell 21-23.The Lady Mariners were led by Josie Caruso, who repeatedly got to the basket and the foul line throughout the game. Hanna Love’s crashing of the boards helped the Lady Mariners limit Gainesville to multiple one-shot possessions while conversely allowing North Georgia to get a plethora of second chance shots.

The Lady Mariners built a 9-6 lead after the first quarter, however, neither team’s offense was extremely production, as each team scored only one point in the second quarter. The Lady Mariners led 12-7 at the half time.

The Lady Mariners pulled away in the third quarter out scoring the visitors 11-4, to take a 23-11 lead into the fourth. The game ended with a 31-17 Lady Mariners win.

The male Mariners did not fare as well. Despite only being down 4-3 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter, the Mariners were out scored 9-3 over the last two minutes of the first quarter. The only Mariners’ field goal came via a deep three pointer from Tripp Pierce.

Down 13-6 going into the second quarter, the Mariners cut the lead at half time to 18-16. However, Gainesville, used a combination of a deep bench and press defense to limit the Mariners to seven second half points to ensure the 51-23 victory.

Girls’ Game