Playing the court at Westside Macon High School in the Great Southern Shootout, the Lady Tigers took a 58-39 win Saturday afternoon against South Gwinnett before they were handed their first loss of the season Monday afternoon. The girls lost in overtime, 52-57, to the Rockdale County Bulldogs.
The games were streamed live on iHIGH.com and may still be viewed from the site’s archives.
BI Lady Tigers 58,
South Gwinnett Comets 38
The Lady Tigers remained undefeated at 8-0 overall and 2-0 in Region 3-AAAAA after Saturday’s 58-38 tournament debut against South Gwinnett.
Coach Faye Baker and the girls managed an effective offense and held a steady lead, closing the half at 31-23 with a Mariah Maternik three-point basket at the buzzer.
She repeated the three-point buzzer shot to close the third with BI up 40-33.
The Lady Tigers defense covered the Lady Comets, allowing only 9 points in the fourth quarter while the hometown girls dropped in 18 points for the win.
As of Monday evening, the South Gwinnett Lady Comets were 0-5 and 0-3 in Region 8-AAAAA. They were scheduled to play Rockdale County yesterday at 12:30 p.m.
BI Lady Tigers 52,
Rockdale County Lady Bulldogs 57 in OT
Monday afternoon, the girls hit the court again, taking on the Rockdale County Bulldogs. The teams traded basket for basket with the Bulldogs, holding a 1-point lead at the close of the first quarter and a 4-point lead at halftime.
Looking to stay alive, the squads traded turnovers and Maternik hit the net to tie the game at 50 in regulation.
In overtime, senior center Seandre Lee fouled out of the game when, according to coach Baker, she ran into a blind side screen and was called for her fifth foul with two minutes left in overtime.
Earlier free-throw troubles caught up with the Hinesville girls and late turnovers in overtime eventually cost them a victory.
"The game could have gone either way and we made some crucial turnovers in overtime, which were really the difference in the game," Baker said. "You can attribute it to Rockdale. They played hard and physical and we just made some mistakes. We missed quite a few free throws that could have made the difference in the game."
As of Monday evening, the Bulldogs were 6-5, 3-2 in Region 8-AAAAA. The Lady Tigers fell to 8-1 and 2-0.
Baker said the level of competition at the Great Southern Shootout is one of the reasons they decided to play in the meet. And while the girls lost their first game, they still have much to battle for.
"It’s going to be interesting to see how we bounce back from this loss," Baker said. "The interesting thing is we are not out of contention in winning this tournament because it’s a round robin situation and the team we play tomorrow won against the team we lost to today. It could be a three-way tie for first place in our division, so we still have a lot to play for."
The Lady Tigers were set to play Riverdale High School at 11 a.m. yesterday.
The Lady Raiders’ win/loss record had not been updated on the Georgia High School Association’s Web site, but Baker said they faced the team recently and she expects them to be competitive.
"We are going to have adjustments as the games progresses," she said of her defensive strategy.
Note: By mid-day Tuesday the Lady Tigers earned their second win of the tournament, beating Riverdale 62-48. Full details and results of the championship games will be in Friday’s Courier.