Lady Bobcats use defense to snap four-game slide
After a narrow overtime loss to the Bryan College junior varsity squad last Monday night, the Georgia Northwestern Lady Bobcats bounced back later in the week with a pair of wins, one at home and on one the road.
Bryan JV 58, Ga. Northwestern 55
After losing 86-54 in Dayton, Tenn. earlier this season, the Lady Bobcats would get a shot at redemption at home and nearly pulled it off.
But despite a careerhigh 32 points from freshman Tori Harvey, the Lady Lions would eke out a three-point overtime victory.
Bryan led 29-23 at halftime and extended its lead to 37-28 with just over three minutes to play in the third quarter. However, the Lady Bobcats turned up the defensive intensity and reeled off a 12-2 run to end the period. Harvey capped the run with a coast-to-coast drive and beat the buzzer with a lay-up, slicing the lead down to 40-39.
A 3-pointer by Harvey with 9:01 left to play would give the home team a 42-41 lead, their first since early in the first quarter. Christina DeSalvo would bury a trey from the corner with 4:14 to go and Harvey would make 1-of-2 free throws with two minutes remaining to give Georgia Northwestern its biggest lead, 48-42.
But the Lady Lions, who did not make a single field goal in the first 8:35 of the fourth quarter got back-to-back 3-pointers by Marlee Sells, the last coming with 57 seconds to go, which tied the score at 48.
Harvey would be stripped of the ball on her way to the hoop as the clock ticked down under 10 seconds to play and Bryan would get one final look at a game-winner 3-pointer, but the shot was off the mark, sending the game to overtime.
Georgia Northwestern took a two-point lead on a bucket by Mia Clark following a nice pass by DeSalvo in transition. But Bryan would answer with back-to-back buckets before Morgan Hopkins found just enough separation to bury a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left, giving her team a 55-50 lead.
Harvey would sink two free throws seconds later, cutting the lead down to three, and following two free throws by Sells, Harvey connected from the top of the key to cut Bryan’s lead down to 57-55 with 19.6 seconds to go.
Sells missed an opportunity to put the game away with 17.3 seconds left as she hit just 1-of-2 free throw attempts, giving the Lady Bobcats one final look at a 3-pointer to extend the game to a second overtime. However Harvey’s shot was deflected and Bryan was able to fire the ball upcourt and run out the clock.
Harvey had 11 rebounds to go with her 32 points. DeSalvo finished with 12 points and four rebounds, while Clark finished with eight points. Taylor Bethune scored the other three points for the Lady Bobcats and added six rebounds. Katy Phillips did not score, but was able to pull down seven boards.
Ga. Northwestern 60, Judson 56
The Lady Bobcats were involved in another close game this past Thursday, this time in Marion, Alabama.
And this time, however, the Navy-andSilver found a way to get it done.
Georgia Northwestern got huge nights from Harvey and sophomore center Madison Lewis to snap what had been a fourgame losing streak.
Harvey followed up her career-high on Monday with 23 points, while adding 18 rebounds and four assists.
Meanwhile, Lewis owned the paint with one of her top performances of the year, an 18-point, 17-rebound doubledouble.
DeSalvo had another solid game with nine points and six boards, while Bethune and Clark each contributed five points and five rebounds. Clark also dished out four assists.
Ga. Northwestern 63, Toccoa Falls 27
The Lady Bobcats have had plenty of games over the past few years where they have scored at least 33 points in the second half.
But a second half in which they held an opponent to just two points? It had never happened before...until Saturday.
Nursing a 30-25 halftime lead at the Rossville Athletic Center, the Navy-andSilver simply put a lid on their basket, nailed it down and cemented it shut over the final two periods to send visiting Toccoa Falls College back to the northeast Georgia mountains with a loss.
It was the second win in a row for Georgia Northwestern (9-5) to begin the new week.
Once again, it was Harvey with the hot hand. The ex-Heritage Lady General scored 19 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in the victory. She is averaging 21.8 points per game this month.
Bethune had a nice afternoon with 14 points, while DeSalvo had a dozen points and eight boards. Phillips dropped in eight points, while Lewis scored six and pulled down eight rebounds. Clark filled her stat sheet with four points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Lady Bobcats will be back on the floor on Saturday, Feb. 3 for their annual Pink Game to promote breast cancer awareness. The game with Florida College will tip off at 1 p.m.