Gallatin’s girls claimed their first Grand River Conference victory over Hamilton since January of 2002 Tuesday night by beating the Lady Hornets, 39-31, on their own floor. As a result, the Lady Bulldogs, 2-0, find themselves all alone atop conference standings heading into further league action Friday and Saturday nights.
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Gallatin’s win, coupled with Worth County’s victory over Maysville on Tuesday, gives the Lady Bulldogs a one game lead over virtually the entire field of nine GRC clubs. Maysville dropped to 2-1 with its latest loss. Hamilton, South Harrison, Worth County, Princeton and King City all sport 1-1 marks heading into the weekend. Stanberry is a surprising 0-2 in league play. Albany fell to 0-2 Tuesday night after a loss to King City.
With senior Katie Jarboe out of the lineup due to illness, Coach Rick Lin juggled his starting lineup to good effect. Trisha Sprague, Courtney Ray, Ayrica Batson, Kelsha Bundy and Maria Burge set the defensive tone for the Lady Bulldogs off the tip. Hamilton managed a 6-5 lead by the end of the opening quarter, but Gallatin’s defensive effort did not go unnoticed.
The Lady Hornets struggled to get their two scoring leaders untracked. Bundy and Maria Burge took turns clamping down on Lady Hornet all-district forward Elizabeth Vollmer, and held her to only a pair of buckets in the second half. Bulldog defenders also limited shooting guard Adrienne Ford to a three-point basket over the course of four periods.
Lady Bulldog trips to the free throw line paid witness to their hustle and aggressive play on offense. Trisha Sprague blew past Hornet defenders to snag a rebound after missing a three-point try as Gallatin took the lead for the final time at the 5:56 mark of the fourth quarter. Kinsey Batson nailed a quick turnaround set shot to put the Lady Dogs in front, 33-28, under the five minute mark.
Taylor Henderson hit a pair of free throws. Kinsey Batson added one of two tries to push Gallatin’s advantage to 36-29. Sprague scored another offensive rebound, drew a foul, and nailed two free throws to keep the lead at seven, 38-31, with just over a minute to play.
Sprague again battled for an offensive board in a crowd, drew a foul and hit the second of a two-shot attempt. Though the Lady Bulldogs would miss their next four free throw attempts, Hamilton took no advantage. Bundy tied up a long rebound in the closing moments. Gallatin took possession with the arrow, and both teams were content to let the clock run out.
Sprague finished with 21 points to lead Lady Bulldog scorers.
Gallatin travels to King City on Friday, and hosts Albany at 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday. The Lady Bulldogs travel to Maysville next Tuesday.