Yellow Jackets edge Dalton at 7-5A midway point
♦ Calhoun began second half of league slate Friday with a road trip to Woodland
The second half of the Region 7-5A schedule has begun for the Calhoun High School team.
The Yellow Jackets ended the first part of the league docket Tuesday night in Dalton with a thrilling 72-68 overtime victory over the Catamounts, putting them at 4-1 in the Region and a game behind first-place Hiram, which went 5-0.
It was a good first half of the schedule for the Jackets, which got through some close 7-5A games with a win.
They defeated Cass by six, and Cartersville and Dalton each by four in three downto-the-wire matches, but the bottom line is they got the victory and are still very much in a position for top billing when the week-long postseason tournament begins at The Hive on Monday, Feb. 13.
Hiram, which is the defending 7-5A champion, ran the table in the first half, closing its first half of Region play Tuesday night with a 59-35 win over Cartersville, which lost its fourth league game in five tries.
Cass is presently 3-2 in the league and in third place, a game behind Calhoun while Dalton, with its loss to the Yellow Jackets Tuesday, is in fourth place at 2-3 and a game in front of Cartersville.
In the win over Dalton, senior forward Dylan Faulkner kept his amazing run going for the Jackets, scoring 31 points and pulling down nearly 20 rebounds to lead all scorers.
The ultimate difference in the game was the Yellow Jackets outscoring Dalton, 11-7, in a fast-paced threeminute overtime after the game was tied at 61 at the end of regulation.
The Catamounts actually topped the visitors from the field in the extra session, 6-5, but the Jackets were 6-of-8 from the foul line, including
three more on a basket and a foul shot.
They broke it open in the third period, topping Dalton, 20-13, in the quarter with Curtis scoring nine points on four baskets and a foul shot. Sophomore post Allie Duke stepped outside and connected on two three’s herself and the current 7-5A leaders were a 49-32 leader when the quarter elapsed.
Watson ended the night with two more 3’s in the fourth quarter and Dorsey and Curtis tossed in four
more with Dorsey making two shots while Curtis made one and two free throws.
Calhoun lost the quarter, 18-17, but Dalton, which beat Calhoun twice last year, never really put a dent in their deficit.
Curtis led her team with 20 points on the night while Watson threw in 17 and Dorsey had 13, giving those three a total of 50 for the game.
Grace Redley was the high-scorer for Dalton with 11 points and Emma Hefner had 10 more.
Going into its Friday night contest at Woodland, the perfect-in-theregion Yellow Jackets were a game ahead of Hiram, which was 4-1 and
two games up on Cartersville, which ended the first half at 3-2.
Dalton dropped to 2-3 in the league with the loss Tuesday night and the Catamounts are a game ahead of Cass, which closed at 1-4.
Overall, Calhoun and Hiram presently sport sparkling records with both standing 16-3 heading into Friday night’s games. Cartersville was 12-5 overall while Dalton and Cass were both 13-6.
After being at Woodland Friday night, the Lady Jackets return to The Hive Tuesday evening when they host Cass and they go to Hiram next Friday night for their second encounter with the Lady Hornets.