Thursday March 28th, 2024 11:52AM

(VIDEO) Basketball: Lady Tigers snap GAC's 7-3A win streak; Dawson boys fall

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter

DAWSONVILLE — Even coach Steve Sweat was surprised when presented with the daunting stats. 

Thirty turnovers, seven missed free throws, not to mention Dawson County’s best player, Kaylee Stricker, was held scoreless in the first half.

Yet, none of that seemed to derail what turned out to be an impressive 75-67 Lady Tigers win over Greater Atlanta Christian Friday night in a huge Region 7-3A showdown at the Dawson County gym.

“We had that many?” Sweat said of the miscues. “This is going to sound crazy knowing that but I thought we were really patient when we needed to be. But it seemed like when we did have a turnover, we got it right back from them.”

The Lady Tigers forced 22 GAC turnovers and used many of those to set up key possessions. Shyla Sheffield was the main beneficiary repeatedly getting behind the GAC defense to score a game-high 22 points as her teammates found her either posted up on a defender or finishing a fast break.

“To me, the biggest thing was that we put the ball in the basket,” Sweat said. “You have to make shots, not make too many mistakes, and play defense to be able to beat them. Despite the turnovers, I really thought we were pretty good in all those areas.”

Maybe even more significant, the loss for the Lady Spartans (3-5, 1-1 Region 7-3A) was their first region loss on the court since joining 7-3A in 2016. They suffered a pair of forfeit losses in 2017 and were 22-0 in the other official 22 contests against Region 7-3A teams.

“That’s a pretty big win for us,” Sweat said. “No one has been able to beat them so it means a lot us. But it’s early (in the region schedule) so you can’t focus on it for too long.”

The win moved Dawson County (5-2, 2-0) into a first-place tie with Lumpkin County (8-0, 2-0) atop the early region standings. Those two teams are not scheduled to meet until Dec. 18 in Dawsonville.

Dawson County used its height in the early going outrebounding GAC 8-1 to build a quick 11-4 lead as Sophia D’Oliveira drained back-to-back 3-pointers. But turnovers and foul trouble helped get the Lady Spartans back in the game and keep it close.

GAC answered the Lady Tigers with an 11-5 spurt over the final 4:40 of the first quarter to close within 16-15. The teams traded baskets deep into the second quarter with GAC taking its first lead at 23-22 on a basket by Kayleigh Addie with 3:54 left in the first half.

The Lady Tigers had 8 turnovers in the opening frame and another 7 in the second quarter to aid the Lady Spartans. Sticker, a Clemson-commit, had as many fouls (2) in the first half as shots (2) and no points for Dawson County.

“Kaylee does a lot of things out there for us,” Sweat said. “She had some big rebounds and some assists.”

Stricker dished out a pair of assists to help spark a 10-1 Dawson County run over the final 3:01 of the second quarter for a 35-26 halftime lead. Sheffield found the gaps in the GAC defense to pour in 10 points and Maddie Anglin had 5 points in each of the first two quarters as well for the Lady Tigers as they held GAC to just two field goals over the final five minutes.

In the second half, GAC mounted an early third quarter rally pulling within 46-45 with 1:45 left in the quarter on a 3-pointer by Kenedi Williams. But the Lady Tigers answered with a 14-3 run into the fourth quarter, capped by a Sticker 3-pointer and a pair of free throws for a 60-48 lead. Sticker eventually finished with 12 points.

Dawson County also kept the Lady Spartans at bay hitting 12-of-17 free throws in the final period. Meanwhile, GAC was a dismal 17-for-36 from the free throw line for the game.

Anglin finished with 14 points for Dawson County. D’Oliveira added 13 points, including going 7-of-10 at the foul line.

Williams paced GAC with 16 points. Addie had 14 points and Jaida Hall 10 for the Lady Spartans.

Dawson County next will take on White County on Saturday in the NGR Dawson County Shootout. 

GAC travels to Class 7A McEachern on Saturday.


GAC BOYS 82,
DAWSON COUNTY 75

It was an early-season matchup between two of the three unbeaten teams in Region 7-3A.

The Tigers kept the game close in the early moments tying the game at 2 and 4 before the defending Class 3A state champion Spartans blew the game open with a 15-3 run to close out the first quarter.

Dawson County (5-2, 1-1 Region 7-3A) got within 25-16 midway through the second quarter but again the Spartans exploded going on a 13-4 run and eventually taking a 44-29 lead into halftime.

GAC (4-3, 2-0) pushed its lead to 56-33 early in the third quarter but the Tigers answered with a 20-7 outburst into the fourth quarter getting to within 63-53.  GAC again ran out to a 16-point lead but the Tigers cut it to 80-75 with 24 seconds left on an Eli Burrus 3-pointer and could get no closer.

"I thought we played our guts out tonight," Dawson County coach Chad Pittman said. "We feel like we can play with that group."

The Tigers had no defensive answer for GAC star Roy Dixon, who poured in a game-high 31 points. Hunter McIntosh added 17 for the Spartans.

Dawson County was led by Luke Chism with 24 points. Burrus added 18 points and Campbell Reed had 12 points for the Tigers. A key was the Spartans defense on the Tigers’ Jasper Gibson, who was held to just 5 points and only one field goal for the game.

  • Associated Categories: Sports, High School Sports
  • Associated Tags: High school basketball, Dawson County girls basketball, Dawson County boys basketball
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