The Gilmer High School Lady Cats entered the 2015-16 Region 7-4A tournament as the number two seed.

By virtue of their high seeding, the Lady Cats received an automatic state tournament bid and byes in the first two rounds of the tournament.

However, turnovers and a lack of rebounding allowed the Heritage Lady Generals to upset Gilmer 61-44 in the semifinals last Friday at Southeast Whitfield High School in Dalton. In the third-place game the next day, the Lady Cats fell victim to the same issues and fell 63-53 to the hosting Lady Raiders.

Lady Cat Hannah Jones reaches over a Lady General for a basket last Friday in the Region 7-4A semifinal game at Southeast Whitfield High School in Dalton. Gilmer went on to fall to Heritage, 61-44. (Photo by: Kevin Hensley)

Against Heritage, the Lady Cats found themselves in a scrap from the outset. After a busy first quarter of rebounds, Gilmer held a 12-11 lead. The Lady Generals then swapped the lead with GHS until halftime, with Heritage coming out ahead 24-21 at the break.

Heritage built a 10-point lead in the third quarter. Hannah Jones landed a three-pointer with five seconds remaining in the third quarter, but the Lady Generals responded with a three at the buzzer to widen their lead to 40-34.

The Heritage lead was quickly built back to 10 in the fourth quarter and the margin only increased from that point on, allowing the Lady Generals to pick up the 61-44 victory.

Emily Sanford launches a three against Southeast Whitfield last Saturday. She led Gilmer with 17 points in the Lady Cats 63-53 loss to the Lady Raiders. (Photo by: Kevin Hensley)

In the third-place game against Southeast Whitfield, Gilmer fell behind early and failed to catch up. The Lady Raiders held a 12-6 after the first quarter, before widening the deficit to 28-17 by halftime.

Following a third quarter that saw Southeast Whitfield open up a 50-36 advantage, the Lady Cats cut into the Lady Raiders lead immensely in the fourth quarter. Jones landed a set of free throws that trimmed the deficit down to four points, before Southeast built its momentum back to once again open up a double-digit lead, en route to the 63-53 victory.

“I feel like if we could just run the fast break all the time, we’d be fine,” said Gilmer coach Kim Charles about the games. “But the minute we don’t rebound the ball … if we don’t get it out, we can’t run the fast break. I feel like we’ve been doing better with turnovers, but we’ve had some very pressured defense (in the tournament). We’re having trouble adjusting our game. We’ve had a good year and I want us to end on a high note, which is playing good and doing well. Right now, we’re not playing to the best of our abilities.”

The Lady Cats (16-8 overall, 11-3 in region play during the regular season) will travel to Marist tomorrow for the first round of the 2015-16 Georgia High School Association State Tournament. The Region 6-4A War Eagles finished the season with an unblemished 18-0 region record and are 26-2 overall for the year. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

STATS (vs Heritage):

Emily Sanford: 19 points, three rebounds, three steals, 2/2 on free throws.

Hannah Jones: Seven points, two steals, one rebound, 2/5 on free throws.

Emily Reece: Six points, three steals, one rebound.

Harley Weaver: Six points.

Taylor Boling: Four points, one rebound.

Kaylee Deyton: Two points, seven rebounds, one steal.

Baylee Burnette: Four steals, one rebound.

Sarah Aaron: Two rebounds.

STATS (vs Southeast Whitfield):

Emily Sanford: 17 points, three rebounds, one steal, 2/2 on free throws.

Hannah Jones: 16 points, four rebounds, three blocks, two steals, 12/14 on free throws.

Mary Lee Callihan: Six points, two rebounds, 4/4 on free throws.

Kaylee Deyton: Four points, one rebound, one steal.

Sarah Aaron: Three points, three rebounds, one steal.

Baylee Burnette: Two points, two rebounds, one block.

Taylor Boling: Two points, two rebounds.

Harley Weaver: Two points, two blocks.

Haley Higingbotham: Two points.

Emily Reece: One point, three rebounds.

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