WBB: Lady Dogs clip SHS in key 22-1A matchup
the lane as a Garrison's Jaemee Lilley (left) defends on the play
Tuesday night in Dragon Gymnasium. The Lady Dragons took
an early lead, but Garrison remained unbeaten in 22-1A action
with a 46-38 win. (Photo by Ray Jackson)
With each game in the District 22-1A girls basketball race being a critical one, Tuesday night's Garrison victory over Shelbyville in Dragon Gymnasium could go a long way in deciding playoff positions and possibly the league champion as the Lady Bulldogs went on the road and received 16 points from Hannah Kimbrough and 11 points and 12 boards from Jaemee Lilley to knock off Shelbyville, 46-38.
Not only did the win keep Garrison (5-9) tied with Tenaha (10-11) for first place in the league standings with identical 2-0 marks, but the Lady Dogs have now defeated Shelbyville, one of the preseason favorites to claim at least one of the post-season spots in the league, on the road.
Shelbyville (13-6) drops back into a third-place tie with Beckville (9-12) with the setback, as each team is one game off the pace with 1-1 records in District 22-1A. Timpson (4-10) and Gary (3-7) head into Friday's action with 0-2 records.
In other district results from Tuesday, Beckville handed Timpson a 45-36 setback and Tenaha was all over Gary, 68-28.
Friday's game will match Shelbyville at Timpson in another early key matchup, while Tenaha and Garrison battle for sole possession of first place in Bulldog Gymnasium. Beckville will visit Gary in the Lady Bobcats' homecoming.
Next Tuesday's matchup will feature Beckville hosting Shelbyville, Garrison will be at Gary and Tenaha will host Timpson.
The Lady Bulldogs hit 29% (15-of-51) of their field goals in the win over Shelbyville, while Garrison cashed in on 15-of-24 (62.5%) from the free throw line.
In addition to the scoring of Kimbrough and Lilley, Rexanna Powers hit 3-of-7 from the floor for seven points, Tatum Greer added six and Shamika Nickols and Jasia Berry each contributed three points.
The Lady Bulldogs overcame 20 turnovers to claim the victory, as GHS finished with 38 rebounds, with 15 of those coming on the offensive end. Lilley completed the double-double, picking up five rebounds on the offensive end, while Nickols added eight rebounds, Powers and Kimbrough chipped in six boards apiece and Greer secured five.
Nickols also tallied five steals and seven assists in the game.
Shelbyville led early on, as the Lady Dragons built a 10-6 lead at the end of the first period. But the Lady Bulldogs came storming back with 11 second-quarter points to tie the game, 17-17, at the break.
Garrison forged ahead 29-27 after three quarters and then pulled away in the fourth by outscoring Shelbyville 17-11.
"We didn't help ourselves by missing a lot of easy shots tonight," said Lady Dragon head coach Michael Dewitz after the game. "We also gave up way too many second-chance shots. We're still not putting together a concentrated good four quarters of basketball."