On what turned out to be a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the Gilmer teams traveled to Dahlonega Ga for non-region action with the Indians of Lumpkin Co.
First to take the court was the Lady Cats to face off against a Lady Indians team that is having a very good season out of 7-AAA. Looking to get a little tune-up before closing out the season with region action at Northwest Whitfield, the Lady Cats took the floor ready to give it all they had. As the referee tossed the ball in the air for the opening tip-off, both teams found it difficult to find a rhythm and really get anything going in the opening period of play. Senior MaryLee Callihan was 4-4 from the free-throw line and led the scoring for the Lady Cats in the first. Heading into the second period of play, Gilmer held a narrow 7-5 lead over Lumpkin. The final period before the halftime intermission had for Lady Cats put points on the board while continuing to put pressure on their opponents. Lumpkin was held to 6 points in the period and trailed 18-11 at the half. Points leaders for the Lady Cats in the first half was MaryLee Callihan with 6 and for the Lady Indians, Ashlynn Wistoski who had 6 first-half points.
The opening of the second half of play had the Lady Indians continue to struggle to get the basketball through the hoop. Scoring only 6 points, the home team couldn’t find a way to cut into the Lady Cat lead. Gilmer outscored the Lady Indians in the third but not enough to stretch the lead to a comfortable level. Emma Deyton had 7 third period points to keep the Lady Cats on top and carried a 29-17 lead headed into the final period. The Lady Indians made one last attempt to cut into the Gilmer lead with 14 fourth period points. Not only did the Lady Cats hold of the battling Lady Indians, but they also added 10 points to seal the deal on a double-digit victory. The Gilmer Lady Cats will travel to Northwest Whitfield on Tuesday for the final game of the 2018-2019 regular season. A win over the Lady Bruins will bring the two teams into a virtual tie for 1st place in Region 6-AAAA with the postseason tournament coming up.
Closing out the afternoon trip to Dahlonega had the Bobcats and Indians take the floor. The Gilmer boys are also having a great season and holding down the #2 spot in the region. On the other side, the Lumpkin Indians are closing out a disappointing season with just 6 wins overall coming into Saturday’s action.
The Bobcat struggles carried over from Friday’s game at LaFayette as they continued to lose the rebound war and even though quality shots were taken, they could not get hardly anything to fall. As the game proceeded through the four periods of play, the varsity boys never quit. In the end, the Cats fell to the Indians 53-49 in the non-region game. (No STATS were available from this game)
Coach Hice and his team will travel to Northwest Whitfield on Tuesday in the finale of the regular season.