Teams hit the road for basketball tournament in Summerville. Sports
Rockmart and Cedartown see mixed results during three days at Chattooga.
The Cedartown Lady Bulldogs and Rockmart Lady Jackets thought they were done playing each other for the 2017-18 season.
Both teams got an unexpected draw against one another and got one more chance to face off last week in the Chattooga County Holiday Tournament following the Christmas break. The first half of the opening game for both teams went easily to the Lady Bulldogs, who went in with a 28-17 lead at halftime.
Rockmart came storming back from the locker room during the third quarter and ended up pulling out a 45-41 win over their cross-county rival on the road, and took a run to the championship game of the tournament itself. That came after a win over 7-AA foe and tournament host Chattooga in a 60-49 win over the Lady Indians.
The Lady Jackets fell to Woodstock in the final game last Friday night in a 52-37 loss, but head coach Tim Puckett said his team still came out a winner in one way that really matters: experience.
“I think in the long run it has been good for us to be here,” he said. “If we keep improving, we’ll do well.”
The Lady Bulldogs fared a little better after giving up their game last Wednesday. They put up a 50-33 win over LaFayette in their Dec. 28 matchup, but then fell to Peachtree Ridge in a close 40-37 loss.
Head coach Eddie Gambrell said after the early loss in the week his team needed to work to refocus their efforts ahead of the second half of the season heading into region play.
“I’m pleased with what they have shown,” he said. “The way they’ve played and the effort they’ve put forth.... We’re trying to improve to Tuesday, and we’ll be ready to get on the bus and head to Cartersville.”
The two girls teams weren’t the only one playing following Christmas. The Cedartown boys team took a win over Coosa in the first round of the Chattooga tournament.
The boys pulled off a 4742 win over Coosa during their Dec. 27 opener, but then dropped a 68-37 game to host Chattooga the following night on Dec. 28, and to Chattahoochee 58-39 loss to wrap up the tournament.