The Gilmer High School Lady Cats had a successful trip to Fannin County as to participate in the annual Tip-Off Tournament. The ladies had a chance to be Co-Champions on the final day, and came back from a huge deficit to make it close; however Gilmer fell to Fannin 37-40.The Lady “Cats” took on the Dragonettes of Pickens County in the opening game of the round robin tournament. The game was back and forth for the duration of the event, but the Lady Cats fell to the Dragonettes 49-47, in a game that came down to the wire.

Gilmer won the tip, but came up empty on the opening possession. The Dragonettes came down and hit a three pointer to open the scoring. Sarah Lambert came up with a steal that led to a Bailey Charles basket and the Gilmer got on the scoreboard.

Britton Farlow continued the hot shooting she’s displayed this since the beginning of the year, hitting a long three to give the Lady “Cats” a 5-3 lead.

Jade Green grabbed a Pickens miss and found Lambert who drove to the basket to draw a foul. After making one of the two free throws, Lambert displayed her defensive skills again as she stepped in front of an entry pass for the steal.

Farlow took the ball down the court and found Charles for two. Pickens answered with a three and the Lady Cats were ahead 8-6.

The Lady Cats defense was stingy, creating turnovers on seemingly every other possession. Lambert and Green, then Lambert again with the takeaway and finding Farlow up ahead for a left-hand lay in to give the Lady Cats a 10-9 lead.

Jenna Parks turned in a fine ending to the quarter, grabbing multiple offensive rebounds and scoring the last three points of the quarter for the Lady “Cats.” Gilmer was ahead 13-9 after one.

Another Pickens turnover is how the second quarter got started, and it lead to a Hannah Jones layup. Lambert was again quick to knock away an entry pass intended for Smith.

Following baskets from Farlow and Lambert, Pickens hit a three and took the lead 21-19. With just 1:39 remaining in the half, the Lady “Cats” trailed 26-19.

Great ball movement led to a Parks jumper. More tremendous passing left Farlow open for a WNBA length three which she drained. At halftime, the Lady Cats trailed 27-24.

The Dragonettes again turned the ball over on Pickens’ opening possession. Gilmer turned this into points when Charles found Parks open for two points.

Lambert hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 27-27. On the next possession, Megan Allen got great position under the basket. Farlow found her with a great pass and it led to Allen sinking two free throws to tie the game back up.

Parks hit another jumper from the side, and another steal by Farlow led to a Lambert drive. She was fouled but made both free throws and Lady “Cats” was on a small 6-0 run.

Lambert, Charles, and Farlow combined for the next five points and the Lady “Cats” led 38-31 after an 11-2 run. A couple of three’s by Pickens and a long two by Charles had the score at 40-37 after three quarters, in Gilmer’s favor.

Gilmer was in the bonus for the entirety of the fourth quarter. Missed free throws early on certainly affected the outcome of this game.

Back-to-back three point plays by Pickens, one of the old fashioned variety, had given the Dragonettes a 43-40 lead. Gilmer fought hard over the final minutes of the game, pulling as close as one point.

Ultimately the clutch free throw shooting displayed by the Dragonettes, paired with multiple misses from the Lady “Cats” kept the game out of reach.

Bailey Charles led the Lady Cats with 12 points, Farlow followed closely with 11, Parks had 9, and Lambert had 8, and Gilmer was 13 of 27 from the charity stripe in the game.

The Lady “Cats” faced Copper Basin on the second day and was relentless in pursuit of victory. Everyone contributed in this record-setting victory over the Cougars, with all players getting valuable minutes. The Lady “Cats” set team records for fewest points allowed (6) and biggest margin of victory (65) in a 71-6 clobbering of the Cougar ladies.

“Basin” had a hard time getting past half court against the Lady “Cat” press, and turnovers were plentiful.

Bailey Charles started the scoring for the Gilmer as she drove along the baseline for two. The steals, blocks, and baskets kept coming for the Lady “Cats” leading to a 19-3 Gilmer lead at the end of the first quarter.

The remainder of the game played out the same way. Hannah Colwell started the second quarter out with a steal and broke away for a layup. Kaylee “TJ” Deyton and others off the bench made huge contributions in the game.

The starters were out of the game early and the press was called off even earlier, but it didn’t stop the Lady “Cats” from scoring in bunches, leading to the aforementioned record setting 71-6 dismantling.
The final day of the tournament had the Lady “Cats” pitted against the host Fannin Lady Rebels. A win would leave a three way tie for first place.

Gilmer would have to overcome a slow start after a 9-0 Rebels run started the game, leading to a 19-6 deficit for Gilmer going into to the second quarter.

Charles knocked down a long jumper and Hannah Jones had two three pointers in a row to bring the game close in the second quarter. Parks hit a shot that got it within one point, but at halftime Gilmer trailed 24-21.

A low scoring third quarter worked in the advantage of the Lady “Cats” as Gilmer took a 27-26 lead, but the Lady Rebels was able to pull away late with a 40-37 victory.

Charles, Farlow, and Parks were named to the All-Tournament Team.