GHS girls upset Lexington, face Lady Hornets again in Saturday title game
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Gallatin’s Lady Bulldogs shot just well enough from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to upset #2 Lexington, 48-44, and earn a shot at a rematch with Hamilton in the championship game of the Lawson Invitational Tournament.
The girls’ championship game has been rescheduled for this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. following last weekend’s ice storm that crippled travel across much of the state of Missouri. The boys title game will follow at 2 p.m.
Gallatin led throughout the first half, even after sophomore guard Courtney Ray injured her knee on a loose ball scuffle midway through the second quarter. Sophomore forward Wren Tolen and freshman point guard Ashley Owens shouldered the scoring load with Tolen pouring in six points and Owens adding five in Gallatin’s 15-14 halftime advantage.
Ray came back in the third period but quickly picked up her third personal foul during a quarter in which both teams experienced long periods of scoreless action. The Lady Bulldogs built a sturdier cushion when Ayrica Batson hit her first bucket of the game. Owens answered a Lydnsay Swofford basket with treys on consecutive trips down the floor. Midway through the third quarter, Owens nailed another three-pointer, then dished to Ray for a layup that spread the gap to a 37-27 GHS lead.
The Minutewomen battled to within 39-34 with two minutes left to play, and had both the possession arrow and bonus in their favor.
Tolen stemmed the tide for Gallatin by hitting a big, big bucket, and making it a three-point play, and six-point lead, with a subsequent free throw shot. Jelessa Stafford threw up a shot that didn’t go, but she was fouled inside a minute remaining. Her two free throws swished and the lead was cut to 43-40.
Lexington sent Ray to the line with a foul. She hit the first, missed the second, but Kelsha Bundy grabbed the rebound for the Lady Bulldogs and drew another foul. Bundy hit her first attempt and Gallatin led, 45-40.
Stafford nailed a field goal from the free throw line to cut the gap to three. Batson mirrored earlier free throw success by hitting one of two attempts, but more importantly kept the spread at two possessions, 46-42.
With six seconds left, Stafford hit again from the field and drew a fifth personal foul from Bundy. Stafford could not convert the three-point play with the foul shot. Ray grabbed the rebound with 2.6 ticks left on the clock and clinched the victory for her team by hitting two pressure free throws in a hushed gym.
Owens finished with 17 points to lead Gallatin. Tolen added 13 and Ray finished with 10.
Gallatin faces a Hamilton team Saturday night that needed a 17-5 fourth quarter surge to get past Lawson, 60-48, in last Thursday’s other girls semifinal.
Gallatin’s only loss thus far this season came to Hamilton in the championship game of the Gallatin Invitational. The Lady Hornets lost to East Buchanan back on Dec. 12.
With Tuesday’s scheduled game at Polo cancelled, Gallatin takes a 10-1 record into Friday night’s GRC contest at Albany. Hamilton was due to travel to Albany Tuesday night with an 8-1 season record. The Lady Hornets will host Worth County on Friday.