GHS girls out, but guys play for spot in district final

Gallatin’s second-seeded boys earned a first round win to move on in the Class 2, District 16 Basketball Tournament, but the #5 Lady Bulldogs could not pull off an upset to keep their season alive.

The Lady Bulldogs could not hold a lead in the fourth quarter against DeKalb on Tuesday as the Lady Tigers used a 14-7 scoring surge to pull out a 38-37 victory. The Lady Bulldogs did everything right at the end, getting two final shots inside six seconds remaining, but could not get the ball to drop.

DeKalb go-to player, Kaley Pyles, came alive in the fourth quarter, hitting nine points down the stretch to fuel a Tiger comeback. Gallatin put DeKalb on the free throw line with 15 seconds left and it paid off with two missed attempts. The Lady Bulldogs attacked the basket with time slipping away, got a good look from Sara Lin that didn’t go and another putback attempt by Aubrey Nelson that failed to drop.

Kaitlyn Hefley sizzled for Gallatin with four three-pointers and a game-high 21 points.

The GHS girls exit the season with some satisfaction after tripling last year’s win total. The Lady Bulldogs improved from 4-20 to 12-14 this season with a young group of promising players.

"What a fun group to coach," head coach Rick Lin said of the 2011-12 campaign. "Of the games we lost, we were in the thick of the battle late in the game for every game but four," he added. "I think we learned a lot, which will help us in the years to come."

Tory Wood played her final game in a Bulldog uniform and her contributions were invaluable to this young team, Lin said.

"We had excellent senior leadership from Tory all year," he stated. "This team really needed someone to step up and take that role," he added. "I am really proud of her. We will definitely miss her next year."

Gallatin’s boys moved to 16-9 on the season with Monday’s 50-25 win over Maysville.

The Bulldogs would be happy now with a similar effort to the one that led to a 78-73 victory over the Polo Panthers on Jan. 17. A strong inside game paved the way to the win and produced three GHS players with at least 20 points. Polo brings a 17-7 record into play in tonight’s (Wednesday) district semifinal.

Derrick Lin poured in 17 points to pace Gallatin on Monday, and dished out six assists. Dexter Daniel produced team highs in rebounds (12) and steals (6). Chris Cameron added nine points to the Bulldog total. Brandon Hunt pulled down nine boards.

Just like in their first meeting, the Bulldogs beat the Wolverines in every facet of the game. Gallatin outrebounded Maysville, 36 to 21. The Bulldogs shot 42% from the field, including five of 10 from the three-point arc. The Wolverines managed to hit only 25% of all shots and missed on nine of 12 treys.

For the second year in a row the path to the state tournament likely leads through DeKalb. The top-seeded and state-ranked (sixth) Tigers take on Rock Port in tonight’s (Wednesday) opener. DeKalb beat Gallatin, 52-33, a year ago and advanced as far as the quarterfinal round before falling to Wellington-Napoleon.