Local teams continue their Region slates
The nights might be cold, but the action in the county gymnasiums is heating up every Tuesday and Friday with all the Gordon County High Schools playing intense Region games these days.
Calhoun
The Yellow Jackets began 5A Region 7 activity Tuesday night and dropped a tough 56-53 decision to Hiram at The Hive in both teams’ league opener.
The Hornets played excellent defense in the fourth quarter, holding Calhoun to just 10 points to rally for the win.
Calhoun got off to good start offensively, hitting for 17 points in the first period, but could not maintain that productivity against a scrappy Hiram group.
The teams were tied at 12 late in the first period before the home team closed the quarter with a 5-2 run to lead 17-14 after the first.
Both teams scored 13 points in the second quarter and the Yellow Jackets did take a seven-point lead midway through period, before Hiram rallied to pull back within three, 30-27, at halftime.
In the second half, the Yellow Jackets were outscored 29-23, to fall to 0-1 in the Region.
The Hornets topped the home team, 15-13, in the third quarter to slice Calhoun’s advantage to 43-42 going into the fourth.
In the final eight minutes, the visitors outscored Calhoun, 1410, to get the win.
Junior Dylan Faulkner had 20 points in his second game back and senior forward Peyton Law added 14 for the Yellow Jackets.
The team hosted Woodland Friday night (details were not available at press time) and will be in Cartersville Tuesday night to face Cass in another Region contest.
In other Region 7 games Tuesday night, Blessed Trinity and Cartersville went to the top of the standings along with Hiram by getting wins with Blessed Trinity belting Woodland, 90-43, and Cartersville nipping Cass, 64-61. Calhoun girls
Freshman Sa’Niah Dorsey hit a big three-point shot late Tuesday night that allowed the Lady Jackets to shoot to the top of the 5A Region 7 standings with a thrilling 47-46 win over Hiram at The Hive in the first league game for both squads.
In a back-and-forth contest that wasn’t decided until the final horn sounded, the Lady Jackets went to 1-0 in the league and into first place along with Cass and Blessed Trinity.
Dorsey, along with fellow freshman Katherine Atha, led the team with 13 points each and junior guard Britiya Curtis, who was honored before the game for having scored 1,000 points in her high school career, added 12 more.
The win elevated the Lady Jackets to 11-3 on the year and after the first night of Region games, they were tied for first place with Cass and Blessed Trinity as the Titans whipped Woodland 55-16, and Cass routed Cartersville, 66-27. Gordon Central girls The Lady Warriors snapped a five-game losing streak Tuesday night with a hard-fought 48-46 win over Dade County in a crucial 2A Region 7 outing for both teams.
The girls were tied at 37 after three periods but the Warriors outscored the Wolverines, 11-9, in the final eight minutes to get the win that put them back above .500 in the Region standings.
The teams were tied at 14 at the end of the first period, but Gordon Central turned up the defensive intensity in the second, allowing just two baskets and outscoring the visitors, 13-5, to take a 27-19 lead at the break.
But DC came back with its biggest quarter of the night, scoring 18 in the third and topping the hosts, 18-10, to tie the game at 37 heading into the fourth period.
Head coach Maci Mills’ team, which went to Athens last Sunday afternoon to watch the University of Georgia women’s team play, will wrap up the first half of the current Region schedule with a 6 p.m. home game Tuesday night against Model.
The Warriors, who are now 9-6 overall and 3-2 in the Region, begin the second half of the league slate Friday night when they remain home and will host Coosa.
Sonoraville girls
The Lady Phoenix will begin the second half of their 3A Region 6 schedule Tuesday night when they go to Rockmart. still very much in the hunt for a playoff berth.
They wrapped up the first half of their league agenda Tuesday night with a 45-33 loss to Ringgold to end up 3-5 with just eight Region games remaining on the schedule.
However, for Sonoraville, which has been to the 3A state tournament three of the past years, they still very much control their own destiny because they were one of four teams to go 3-5 in the first half of Region and all of them are currently sitting in a tie for fourth place.
LaFayette stands 8-0 and atop the league with North Murray a game off the pace at 7-1. Ringgold, with its win over Sonoraville Tuesday, is alone in third place at 6-2 and after that, the Phoenix, along with Adairsville, Rockmart, and Coahulla Creek are all 3-5 which means the Sonoraville-Rockmart matchup Tuesday night is a big game for both teams.