Lady Tigers beat LFO, grab subregion lead Heritage teams bear down to sweep Bruins
Ringgold
There was a time, some 25-30 years ago, when Catoosa County was one of the hotbeds of girls’ high school basketball in the state.
The LakeviewFort Oglethorpe Lady Warriors and Ringgold Lady Tigers both took turns atop or near the top of the polls in Class AAA and games between the county rivals packed both schools’ gyms to the rafters with rabid fans.
The long-time rivalry heated up again this past Friday night and the county clash had a definite throwback feel to it.
Parking spaces and gym seats were at a premium as an overflow, standing-room-only crowd at Ringgold High School witnessed the next generation serve up a classic as the Lady Tigers staved off a bigtime challenge from the Lady Warriors to score a 59-56 victory on Senior Night.
Ringgold (17-5 overall, 5-0 Region 6-AAA North) jumped out to a 16-5 lead after one period and carried a 31-22 lead into the locker room. However, LFO would shoot its way back into it in the third quarter.
Jazzmyn Elston and Macey Gregg combined to score 13 of the Lady Warriors’ 17 points in the frame to pull the visitors to within four, 43-39, to start the fourth. They would eventually chop Ringgold’s lead down to just one, 4544, on another long jumper by Gregg with just over seven minutes remaining.
The Lady Tigers would counter with a 9-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer off the fingertips of Karoline Sholl, as they built their lead back up to 54-46. However, their breathing room would be short-lived.
LFO came roaring back with an 8-0 run of their own. Elston would tie the game at 54 on a drive to the hoop with 2:30 to play, but she would pick up fifth foul just 21 seconds later as Rachel Akers converted a 3-point play in the paint for Ringgold.
Gabby Ware would pull the Lady Warriors back to within one, 57- 56, following a basket with 37 seconds left. LFO then put Kiwi Dale on the line with 22 seconds to go and the senior would make 1-of-2, leaving the Lady Warriors with a chance to tie or take the lead.
The Northwest Whitfield Lady Bruins, ranked fifth in the latest Class AAAA polls, began this past Friday night as the only team without a Region 6-AAAA loss.
However, they didn’t end the night that way.
Seventh-ranked Heritage outscored their arch nemesis in all four quarters and tied the Lady Bruins for first-place in the region standings with a 65-51 victory in front of a capacity crowd in Ringgold.
The two top teams in the region began the heavyweight showdown by going at each other from the opening tip in what was a physical, and at times a salty, first half.
Northwest (16-6 overall, 9-1 region) took an early lead, only to see Heritage (21-2, 9-1) score seven of the final eight points in the first period. Ansley Bice knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as the Lady Generals forged a slim 16-14 lead.
The Lady Bruins would counter in the second quarter with an 8-2 run to take a brief 22-18 lead. However, Heritage refused to go away and ended the first half with another run. The 9-2 spurt regained a 27-24 advantage for the home team as the two combatants headed to the locker rooms.
Emily Wiley would get the hot hand for the Lady Generals
Gregg launched a triple from the top of the key, only to see the ball bounce off the front of the rim and LFO had to quickly foul Dare Schley with 10.7 seconds to go. Schley made the front end of the oneand-bonus, but missed the second, giving LFO one final chance to tie things up in the waning seconds.
Gregg would get another open look at a potential game-tying 3-pointer with the clock ticking down, but the ball rattled out and Ringgold was able to corral the rebound as time expired.
Rachel Thomas had 15 points for the Lady Tigers, followed by Sholl with 13. Dale had nine points and dished out seven assists. Lauren Terrell added eight points and Akers finished with seven.
LFO (14-9, 3-3) got a game-high 30 from Elston and 16 from Gregg.
Ringgold boys 47, LFO 33
The nightcap saw the Tigers lead 17-15 at halftime before reeling off 17 points in the third quarter, including eight unanswered points to begin the second half, and the Warriors would never recover.
Ammon Murphy had 16 points for Ringgold (9-12, 4-1) and completed the double-double with 10 boards. Davantae Kimble, the Tigers’ lone senior, had eight points, four steals and four assists, while Chandler Chastain dropped in six points.
Zach Thompson had a team-high 12 points for LFO (5-18, 1-5), while Noah Harris was next on the list with nine. However, no other Warrior scored for than three points.
Ringgold girls 58, North Murray 29
The Lady Tigers took another big step toward clinching the top spot in Region 6-AAA North with a dominating home win over the Lady Mountaineers this past Tuesday.
The ninth-ranked squad in Class AAA outscored the Lady Mountaineers in the second quarter, 208, before going on to double up their opponents from Chatsworth.
Thomas had 16 points for Ringgold, while Infiniti Foster added 14 points and Sholl dropped in eight. Schley had four points, but dished out five assists and pulled down 13 rebounds.
Ringgold boys 59, North Murray 44
The nightcap saw Kimble score 11 points and Drake Starks add 10 as the Tigers picked up the subregion win. Blake Goldsmith added seven points in the win.
LFO girls 64, Bremen 48
The Lady Warriors claimed the region crossover win on the road last Tuesday, pulling away by outscoring the Lady Blue Devils 20-10 in the fourth quarter.
Elston had a big night with 26 points and eight boards for the Lady Warriors. Sydni Eaves finished with 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Gregg had 14 points and six rebounds.
Bremen boys 61, LFO 54
In the nightcap, the Warriors held a 31-20 lead at intermission, but saw it evaporate in the second half.
Thompson led LFO with 23 points and collected 10 rebounds. Harris finished with 14 points and Triston Bennett had 10 points and blocked 10 shots in the loss.
The Region 6-AAA tournament will begin on Feb. 6. The location has yet to be determined. in the third quarter. Wiley scored 11 of her game-high 23 points in the period as Heritage extended their lead to six to begin the final period.
The Navy-and-Red would make just four field goals in the final eight minutes, but the Lady Generals got the job done at the charity stripe, connecting of 12-of-16 attempts in the final period. They finished the night 24of-32 from the line and went on the claim the win.
Wiley was 10-of-11 by herself from the free throw line. Shalya Ludy added 15 points in the victory, followed by Tori Harvey with 14 and Sydney Smith with seven.
Bria Clemmons had 14 points to pace Northwest.
The boys’ region standings also got a bit more snug after the Generals knocked off the Bruins.
A 26-19 Heritage advantage at the break was nearly erased by the fourth quarter as the Generals held a precarious 52-51 lead with just over two
minutes remaining. But a huge 3-pointer by Luke Grant at the 1:45 mark pushed the Generals’ lead back to four.
Luke Shiflett would make 1-of-2 free throws for the Bruins after a technical foul was called on Heritage guard Tylon Gaines. Northwest would get the ball on the ensuing possession, but Cole Wilcox would take a charge from Shiflett and then scored on an offensive put-back at the other end to boost the lead to 57-52 with under a minute to go.
Following a Bruins miss, Wilcox was put on the line and the center would connect on both free throws, increasing the Generals’ lead to seven with 29 seconds to go.
The Bruins would misfire on another 3-point attempt and Corbee Wilson hit 1-of-2 from the line with 10 seconds left to effectively seal the victory.
Wilcox ended the night with 20 points, followed by Grant with 11 and Blake Bryan and Will Allen with seven each.
Shiflett and Pax Pardee had 16 points each for Northwest.
The loss dropped the Bruins (14-8 overall) to 8-2 in 6-AAAA. They are a game up on LaFayette (9-3), who has completed their 12 region games. Heritage (17-6 overall) sits at 7-3 in region play with two games left against Ridgeland this week.
Heritage girls 76, Pickens 54
Smith, a senior, scored her 1,000th career point as the Lady Generals picked up the home win last Tuesday. Heritage jumped out to a big 21-5 lead after the first quarter, led 35-24 at halftime and never looked back.
Smith finished with 18 points, while Wiley led the Navy-and-Red with 19 points. Bice and Harvey both finished with 10.
Heritage boys 80, Pickens 61
The Generals got their offense on track early and often as they led 47-31 at the break.
Wilcox scored 13 of his 23 points in the third quarter. Bryan had 13 points and Allen finished with 12 in the victory.
The Region 6-AAAA tournament will get underway starting Feb. 6 at Southeast Whitfield High School.
The top four finishers will earn berths in the GHSA Class AAAA state tournament, which starts with teh opening round on Feb. 17 and 18.