WINDER — For 27 minutes Friday night, the Class AAAAAA 10th-ranked Gainesville girls had pretty much everything going their way against No. 2 Winder-Barrow.
It was the last nine minutes, however, that was the difference.
Winder-Barrow erased a nine-point Gainesville lead with just over five minutes left in regulation and then outscored the Lady Red Elephants 11-4 in overtime to escape with a 66-59 win in a crucial Region 8-AAAAAA game for both teams.
It was the 10th win in the last 11 games for the Lady Bulldoggs (11-4, 2-0 Region 8-AAAAAA), who took over first place with the victory. The loss snapped Gainesville’s three-game winning streak.
Gainesville (10-4, 2-1) used a tenacious defensive effort and timely shooting in the third quarter to outscore Winder-Barrow 20-11 in the period. Gainesville forced eight turnovers and scored 13 points off those miscues to turn a 29-24 halftime deficit into a 44-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Lady Red Elephants extended the lead to 53-44 following a Tia Shelton 3-pointer three minutes into the final period.
“I thought we played well most of the way,” Gainesville coach Brenda Hill-Gilmore said. “But Winder is a great team and we didn’t put them away when we had the chance. This is a tough region and every game is hard.”
The Lady Bulldoggs used their height advantage and got help from a tired Gainesville group that had played the night before to chip away and send the game to overtime tied at 55. Olivia Nelson-Ododa, the 2016 Class AAAAA PLayer of the Year, did most of the damage in the final eight minutes scoring six of her 17 points, pulling down three rebounds, and blocking three huge shots to spark the comeback.
“Olivia is hard to guard. And she made some big blocks at the end,” Hill-Gilmore said. “We just didn’t have anyone that could answer for us.”
In the final minutes of the fourth quarter Gainesville went to a more deliberate motion offense to combat the tired legs and had several chances to add to its lead but could not convert, missing three shots within 10 feet, including a remarkable Nelson-Ododa block of a wide-open Shelton shot in the final 10 seconds that could have won the game.
Winder-Barrow never trailed in the overtime as Chellia Watson scored on a driving layup and then assisted on a Nelson-Ododa basket after a Gainesville turnover for a 59-55 lead. The Lady red Elephants got as close as 59-57 on a pair of Shelton free throws and 63-59 on two Taylor Hawks free throws with 38 seconds left but three Nelson-Ododa free throws in the final 27 seconds sealed the win.
Hawks had a huge game for Gainesville with a game-high 28 points to go with four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Shelton and Tija Blackwell each finished with 11 points for the Lady Red Elephants.
Nelson-Ododa and Lexi Maddox each had 17 points to pace Winder-Barrow. Watson added 13 points and six assists for the Lady Bulldoggs.
Winder-Barrow jumped out a quick 6-0 lead on 3-pointers by Maddox and Watson to open the game but Gainesville stormed back with a 12-2 run powered by 3-pointers from Blackwell and Hawks. Blackwell converted a stick-back basket to push the lead to 17-10.
But the Lady Bulldoggs used a 13-0 run, highlighted by two Latrice Perkins 3-pointers, in the second quarter to retake the lead and a 29-24 lead into halftime.
Gainesville opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run, capped by a Hawks steal and layup, for a 31-29 lead and the Lady Red Elephants appeared to take control from there using a 19-11 spurt to get to 53-44 with just over five minutes left. They just couldn’t hold on.
“The girls came out ready to play but I think they’re a little disappointed with the final outcome,” Hill-Gilmore said.
The two teams will meet again on Jan. 31 in Gainesville.
GAINESVILLE BOYS 85,
WINDER-BARROW 56
The No. 1-ranked Red Elephants shook off a slow start with a 16-1 run to open the second quarter en route to the big region win.
Gainesville (16-0, 3-0 Region 8-AAAAAA) trailed 2-0 after Winder-Barrow’s Terrence Butler scored on layup a minute in. Jarred Rosser answered with six straight points for the Red Elephants and they would not trail again.
But four turnovers and several missed shots kept the Bulldoggs (6-9, 0-2) close in the first quarter as Gainesville led 17-11 heading into the second quarter.
Bailey Minor, Xavier Bledson, and K.J. Buffen sparked the big run, including a thunderous alley-oop dunk by Buffen off a Brent Kelly feed, for a 33-14 lead. Winder pulled within 35-22 on another Butler field goal with just over two minutes left in the half but the Red Elephants exploded again with a 14-0 run to close out the half for a 49-22 lead.
The Red Elephants cruised in the second half taking a 73-38 lead into the fourth quarter and leading by as many as 37 in the final period.
Butler finished with a game-high 28 points to lead Winder-Barrow.
Jarred Rosser led Gainesville with 15 points. Buffen finished with 12 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists and Minor added 11 points, five rebounds, two blocks and two assists for the Red Elephants. Bledson had nine points and four assists and Michael White had eight points and eight rebounds.
