Printup saves the day for Rockmart girls
Wild finishes were all the talk at Cedartown on Friday night, but the rest of the week didn’t provide the needed boosts both the Lady Bulldogs and Lady Jackets needed heading into the region tournament.
Here’s a wrap-up from the past week for both teams prior to and after the rivalry game, starting with the Lady Jacket’s last second win.
Rockmart scraps for win over Cedartown
The Rockmart Lady Jackets picked up a needed region win in the last second over rival host Cedartown in a 45-44 wild finish.
Rockmart’s Kalisha Printup provided the buzzer beater shot underneath the basket on a last chance rebound attempt a point down against Cedartown.
Head coach Tim Puckett said Printup provided the winning shot, but a fourth quarter effort from the whole team boosted the Lady Jackets to a win.
Lady Dragons tangle with Cedartown, Rockmart in back-to-back games
Rockmart traveled to Lindale Wednesday, Jan. 27 in a region make-up game with the Pepperell Lady Dragons and fell on the road in a 57-28 final.
Pepperell’s Madison Wilder put up 29 points in the Lady Dragon’s latest win in a dominating second half performance that included a 12-point fourth quarter to ensure another big win.
“We needed her to play well, and she stepped up,” said Pepperell head coach Judson Cox.
The Lady Dragons opened the game with a 10 point lead at 15-5 by the end of the first, and extended it to 23-6 by the midway point of the second quarter, eventually gaining a 25-11 halftime lead and maintaining it through the second half.
Cox said his squad found their rhythm in the third and fourth quarters, allowing for the offense to take over and get younger players into the rotation.
“It’s the third game in a row that we’ve played together as a team, and I’m happy with that,” Cox said.
None of the Lady Jackets were able to get above single digits in the scorebook Wednesday, but Kalisha Printup came the closest with a nine point game against the Lady Dragons.
Head coach Tim Puckett said the Lady Jackets are still struggling to find their way in the region, even as it winds down.
“They work hard, and they did fairly well with defense. We held Wilder back much better than we did last time, but you have to make the shots and we didn’t,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Lady Dragons did much the same to Cedartown.
Pepperell overcame a slow start to put up 40 points in the middle 16 minutes of their Region 5-AAA game Tuesday against Cedartown on the way to a 60-37 win.
Jacrisa Ware led a trio of Lady Dragons who hit double figures as the senior scored 17 points, including three 3-pointers.
Burkhalter scored 16 points for Pepperell (118, 3-3 in 5-AAA), while Madison Wilder finished with two 3’s and 14 points, nine of which came in the first half.
Neither team scored in the first three minutes of the game, with a layup from Burkhalter came with 4:56 left in the first quarter.
Working up to a 5-4 lead, the Lady Dragons turned on their aggressiveness and had a 13-1 run in the second quarter to go up 25-13 at the half.
Cedartown (8-9, 3-3) wasn’t able to get its first field goal of the second half until 3:57 left in the third, and Pepperell went on to put up another 20 points in the quarter to take a 45-24 lead heading into the fourth.
Brittany Goss paced the Lady Bulldogs with 14 points, as well as going 6-of-8 at the line.
Darlington wins out over Rockmart, Cedartown falls at home over weekend
Keara Evans hit five 3-pointers, Anna Claire Atha was 7-of7 at the line, and the Darlington girls picked up a non-region win over Rockmart, 67-27.
Playing at home, Darlington got out to a quick start and led 2311 after the first quarter. Evans finished with 26 points, while Atha added 23 to make up the bulk of the scoring.
Rockmart (9-15) scored only 10 points in the second half, while Evans and Atha continued to add to the Lady Tigers’ total.
Cedartown hosted the Lady Cavaliers in a makeup game with Callaway on Saturday and fell 50-37 on the home court.
Rockmart is back in action Tuesday night after press time hosting Central, and Cedartown will take the court Tuesday hosting Haralson County.