OAKWOOD -- With a big week ahead for a Gainesville girls basketball team still trying to find itself, Tuesday's 30-19 win over West Hall on the road may be just what they needed to turn their season around.
Gainesville came into the game having lost three of four games and coming off a two-week layoff. Gainesville coach Manson Hill said getting a win was virtually a must with games against Oconee County and Class AAA No. 3 Walnut Grove on back-to-back days this weekend.
"This was a big game for us because there was a chance we could have been in a big hole in the subregion right off the bat," he said. "West Hall has been playing well and it's always a tough game for us here."
The Lady Elephants (5-6, 2-0 Region 8B-AAA) won it with their defense. They held West Hall scoreless for 18 minutes and forced more than a dozen West Hall turnovers in a 16-0 run to take control of the game. West Hall scored just three points in the second and third quarters combined.
"I thought our defense was excellent, especially after the first four minutes of the game," Hill said. "We take pride in our defense and we wanted to work on some things as we start playing subregion games. I thought both teams played good defense, which made for a sloppy offensive game."
Despite the long offensive drought West Hall (5-10, 0-2) managed to cut Gainesville's lead to 21-16 with nearly five minutes left. But Gainesville hit 7-of-10 free throws in final three minutes and the Lady Spartans missed six straight shots as the Lady Elephants' pushed their lead to 13 points to seal the win.
Both teams started slow with Gainesville leading just 3-2 three minutes into the game. But West Hall finally got untracked going on an 8-0 run sparked by two baskets from Amber Johnson to grab a 10-3 lead.
The Lady Spartans pushed their lead to eight again, 13-5, on a 3-pointer from Tori Alfredson but would not score again over the final 6:54 of the first half going 0-for-8 from the field. Gainesville closed the gap to 13-11 on a basket by Rebecca Webster with 4:03 left in the second quarter but the Lady Elephants also went cold from the field missing their final nine shots over the final four minutes.
Seniors Webster and Mikalyn DeFoor sparked Gainesville with 13 and seven points, respectively. They combined for 16 points in the second half.
Amber Johnson led West Hall, which has now lost five of its last six games, with four points.
Gainesville will play host to Oconee County on Friday, while West Hall travels to face Johnson.
Friday
January 31st, 2025
2:56PM
