Lady Devils dominant in 7-AA victory

♦ Model rolls to lopsided home win over Gordon Central

Model’s tenacious pressure defense proved too much for visiting Gordon Central on Friday as the Lady Blue Devils forced numerous turnovers and harassed Lady Warriors’ players all evening en route to a 56-9 win on Senior Night.

“It’s part of our program and part of our foundation where we have a defense-first mentality. I think in the toughness of the season, you kind of lose sight of that,” Model head coach Sally Echols said. “I felt like we had to regroup a little bit this week, and the girls responded very well. So I was very proud of their defensive effort.”

Holding a 13-5 lead to start the second quarter, Model’s defense overwhelmed Gordon Central. The offense got going with August Betz scoring two quick baskets in the paint and Tamiya Ragland adding one of her own.

Eva Poyner then hit back-to-back baskets, upping the Lady Devils’ lead to 23-5.

Briley Sims then scored a basket in the paint and on the next possession drilled a 3-pointer. Morgan Wood added a bucket, and Sadie Raughton closed out the first half with a 3-pointer near the buzzer to give Model a 33-5 halftime lead.

The Lady Devils subbed generously in the second half and 15 different players recorded stats in the game.

Senior guard Addison Cantrell, who has been sidelined with a knee injury, came on in the third quarter and drilled a 3. Freshman guard Georgia Womack knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as well, as Model closed out the contest.

“This team is really special. Their chemistry and love for each other is special. Those seniors being able to go out there and have this as their last known home game is pretty special that they get to end that way,” Echols said. “Especially my number 25 (Cantrell). She has battled back from a knee injury. She had surgery this year. This is her first time stepping on the floor, so to go out that way was awesome.”

Betz led all scorers with 10 points, although she played sparingly in the second half. Sims and Poyner each added eight points, while Raughton scored seven and Womack had six.

Gordon Central was led by Raniyah Ellis with five points.

The win moves Model’s overall record to 12-9 and 7-4 in region play. Gordon Central falls to 3-18 and 0-12 in the region.

Model closes out the regular season on Tuesday with a region contest at Rockmart at 6 p.m., while Gordon Central finishes the regular season at Copper Basin.

“I think it’s one game at a time for us now. We’re not promised the next game, we have to take care of each game. For us we have to chop that up into bite sizes. We have to have one possession at a time,” Echols said. “We are teaching this young team that sometimes your lens can get too long and you need to narrow that focus and break it down possession by possession. Hopefully, we will take that focus into our final region game against Rockmart and then carry that into the tournament.”