Fourth quarter rally carries Lady Bulldogs past Mid-Buchanan, 49-39.
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Gallatin’s girls were winners Tuesday night…no matter what version of the final score everyone chooses to accept.
Sparked by strong play late from some of their younger team members, the Lady Bulldogs pulled away in the 4th quarter from the Mid-Buchanan Lady Dragons and a touchy scoring controversy, and claimed a 49-39 victory that propelled them into Thursday night’s District 15 semifinal round. Gallatin will face #3 South Harrison, a 34-31 winner over Bishop LeBlond, at 8 p.m.
The Lady Bulldog victory, their 19th of the season, overshadowed a rarely-seen scoring snafu that saw the game’s official scorer apparently fail to count a 2nd quarter bucket by Gallatin’s #10, Erin Sweatman, and erroneously award 2 points to Mid-Buchanan’s #10, Amanda Noland. Instead of owning a 22-17 cushion with 1:50 left in the period, the Lady Bulldogs had to be content with a 20-19 lead. Gallatin trailed by 3 points with seconds to play in the half when Sweatman corralled a loose ball with her back to the GHS basket, turned and launched a 3-pointer that split the cords ahead of the buzzer.
Gallatin came out fired up in the 3rd quarter with an 8-0 run but Mid-Buchanan responded with a 10-1 surge that gave the Lady Dragons a 33-32 cushion with 20 seconds left in the period. Allison Spidle put the Lady Bulldogs back in front, 34-33, with a pair of free throws.
The Lady Bulldogs salted the game away down the stretch with good defense and balanced scoring from 6 different players. Sweatman contributed 4 points. Courtney Houghton hit a pair of important free throws. Kayli Burrell notched a field goal and free throw. Rebecca Stith added a free throw. Roxi Davitt scored a 4th quarter bucket and dished out a pair of assists to Sweatman cutting on the baseline, and to sister Rochelle for a 4-footer in the lane.
Officially, Sweatman finished with a game-high 19 points. Rochelle Davitt followed for Gallatin with 9 points. Other big contributions from GHS players included 3 steals and a team-high 8 rebounds from Shannon Batson, 4 assists from Roxi Davitt, 4 assists and 3 steals from Kayli Burrell and 3 assists from Spidle.