Gallatin has proven to be Hamilton’s nemesis in past Hamilton Tournaments, but that wasn’t the case Saturday night as the host Lady Hornets took this year’s crown with a relatively easy, 48-29, win.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
Gallatin has proven to be Hamilton’s nemesis in past Hamilton Tournaments, but that wasn’t the case Saturday night as the host Lady Hornets took this year’s crown with a relatively easy, 48-29, win.
Despite the loss, Gallatin took an impressive road to the final after tipping off the tournament with a victory over higher-seeded Maysville. Not only did the Lady Bulldogs come just one game short of repeating as tournament champs, they also came close to winning the event in the same style as a year ago, when they upset both the #1 and #2 seeds.
Hamilton led, 9-6, at the end of the opening period, but with a bucket by Trisha Sprague, Gallatin tied the score at 12-12 with 5:38 to play before the half. The Lady Hornets, led by strong inside efforts from Emily Greenwood and Elizabeth Vollmer, went on a 12-2 tear and held a 24-14 advantage before the Lady Bulldogs banked home the final shot of the second quarter.
Hamilton matched its first half scoring output in the second half but Gallatin could muster only 13 points against the Hornet man defense.
Emily Gay, who scored in double figures in all three tournament games, led Gallatin for the second straight game with 12 points. Greenwood and Vollmer combined for 30 Hornet points. Vollmer led the way with 16.
Top seed tumbles
Gallatin knocked off top-seeded Lathrop for last year’s HIT title. The Lady Bulldogs pulled the same trick this year in the semifinal round.
Senior Katie Ward sank five of six free throw attempts in the final minute to elevate the GHS girls to a 37-34 victory over the state-ranked and previously unbeaten Lady Mules in Wednesday’s thriller. Despite a notable height advantage and history of balanced scoring from its starters, Lathrop shot poorly from the field and could neither tie the game nor take a lead despite several late chances.
Gallatin led, 32-28, with 4:13 to play when Lindsey Robertson scored off an in-bounds play. Gay missed a short chip shot but made up for it with a steal on the other end. An over-the-back foul by Andrea Armstrong against Gay gave the Lady Bulldogs the ball and 32-30 advantage with 1:31 left. With just over a minute remaining, Keira Story batted a defensive rebound to a teammate and that led to a pair of Ward free throws.
Jessica Shrewsberry drove the baseline for a layup that cut the gap to 34-32. Ward went back to the line, hit the first try, missed the second but hustled for her own rebound. Quickly fouled again, she converted both shots to make it a two-possession lead.
The Lady Bulldogs entered the closing moments with four fouls to give before putting the Lady Mules in the bonus. Gallatin made good use of those fouls by forcing the Lady Mules to spend what little time they had left taking the ball out of bounds. By fouling three times in the final 20 seconds, Gallatin gave Lathrop no opportunity to set up its offense.
Gay led all scorers with 11 points. Story and Ward each finished with eight. Brittney Hixson came off the bench to handle the ball and hit a pair of big third quarter baskets for Gallatin. Lathrop failed to place a single player in double figures.