The Gilman City Hawks executed a rare sweep of Gallatin in varsity basketball Monday night.
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It was a rare loss for the Lady Bulldogs to a team out of the HDC Conference. Not often do both Bulldog teams fall on the same night, and rarely yet does that happen on the GHS home court.
The victory by the Lady Hawks was a memorable one for Coach Tina Holt, who has had little luck against Gallatin in her coaching tenure. The 9-1 GC girls are riding an 8-game winning streak since their only loss to as yet unbeaten Hamilton in the semifinal round of the Gallatin Invitational.
"This was my first win over Coach (Rick) Lin," she said. "It felt pretty good since he’s such a well-known and respected girls basketball coach, and always seems to get the best out of his players," she added.
The Lady Hawks were able to capture a 47-42 victory despite a layoff that could have left them shakey on the road.
"We came into the game having a week off, so I figured that we would be flat and non-aggressive, but my girls came out ready to play," said Lady Hawks coach Tina Holt.
Gilman played even ball with the host team in the first quarter, and took a 20-16 lead at halftime.
"Pushing the ball down the floor is something that I haven’t seen my girls do much of this year, but our senior point guard Monica Wilson really stepped up in a leadership role and took control of the game," said Coach Holt. "On defense, we focused a lot on controlling Courtney Ray because we realize that she is a tremendous asset to her team and a major leader," she added. "We were luckily able to hold her to 11 points."
Coach Holt praised the efforts of freshman guard Taylor Whitney, who hit a pair of crucial three-pointers in the second half. She finished with 12 points.
The Lady Hawks saw their lead diminish to 33-31 heading into the fourth period, but in the end it was free throws (14 of 17) that helped produce a GCHS victory.
Wilson finished with a game-high 24 points, including an 11 of 12 showing from the foul line. Senior Abbie Herrold converted one of two free throws down the stretch and senior Kyla Payne hit two of three for the Lady Hawks.
Gilman City’s boys took the nightcap, 61-46, behind the scoring of senior Blake Johnson and junior Chris Hulett. Johnson led all scorers with 22 points and Hulett added 20 in the winning effort.
Senior Jon Brown paced Gallatin with 13 points. Kayle Hefley added 10 for the Bulldogs.