Two blowouts and an overtime thriller keep Lady ‘Cats’ streak alive
GCSU first dominated a catfight in their game against the Augusta State University Lady Jaguars on Sat. Jan. 31, with the highest point total for the Lady Bobcats this season, an 82-69 victory. The win was their fifth straight.
ASU drew first blood, but junior guard Daniela Nopuente shot a three-pointer to give GCSU its first lead at 9-8. After GCSU gained the lead, they never relinquished it.
Nopuente commented on her three-point shooting against the Lady Jaguars.
“It took a lot of concentrating,” Nopuente said. “I kept thinking ‘I need to make this one.’ Just take every shot I can.”
The Lady Bobcats started off the second half strong with a 7-0 run, making it 50-31.
Late in the game, Nopuente nailed another three-pointer to give the Bobcats its largest lead of the game at 23 points.
Senior forward Tiauna Brantley and Nopuente led the team in points with 14 each. Brantley also made every free throw attempt she had.
“We brought a lot of energy to the game,” Brantley said. “I’ve missed the last few free throws in past games so I made sure I made them in this game.”
Junior forward Antoinette Reames grabbed nine rebounds for the night along with 12 points.
As a team, the Lady Bobcats shot 43.7 percent from the floor, 39 percent from behind the arc and 64.7 percent from behind the foul line.
Head Coach John Carrick was pleased with his team’s performance.
“How many points we score doesn’t matter as long as we score one more point than the other team,” Carrick said. “This win was a big team effort. Keeping our [winning] streak alive is awesome.”
The Lady Bobcats followed this by taking their sixth straight victory, winning convincingly over the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP) on Monday, Feb. 2 with a score of 76-53. The Lady Bobcats got an early seven point run, but the Lady Braves fought back to a 22-20 deficit at half.
After halftime, the game continued to stay neck-and-neck. GCSU began to use a full court press, which Pembroke didn’t respond well to. Using the full court press, junior guard Shandrea Moore stole the ball immediately following a basket and fed it to sophomore guard Dominique Huffin, who sunk a three to complete a quick five-point run. This play seemed to be the game clincher. The five-point lead would turn into a huge second half run that put away the Lady Braves for good.
Huffin led the Lady Bobcats in points with 20. Brantley and Reames each accumulated five steals.
As a team, the Lady Bobcats shot 49.2 percent from the floor, and 44 percent from behind the arc.
The Lady Bobcats victory came down to one aspect: defense.
“We’re going to bring the defense, because if they can’t score, they can’t win,” Brantley said.
The first and second half performances for the Lady Bobcats were as different as day and night.
“First half was embarrassing.” Carrick said. “We played with no energy and played at the level of our opponents. Second half was much better. We used a [full court] press, which helped us get those easy baskets. [Once] we got our confidence back, we started shooting better [overall]. If you don’t have energy, you’re going to lose.”
The Lady Bobcats then got their seventh straight win, though not easily, by winning a nail biter over North Georgia College and State University (NGCSU) on Feb. 4 with a score of 61-58 in overtime.
The Lady Saints went on a early six-point streak, but senior guard Emily Bixler hit a three-pointer that gave GCSU its first lead at 11-8.
The Lady Bobcats led the game at halftime 37-18, and NGCSU committed 11 fouls in the first half while GCSU only tallied four.
NGCSU began the second half with a three-point shot, but GCSU kept pulling away and extended their lead to 20. The Lady Saints then made a fierce comeback with a nine-point streak, and began to press, which flustered the Lady Bobcats.
NGCSU continued to decrease the point deficit until the end of regulation saw a 56-56 tie.
GCSU overcame NGCSU in overtime with a score of 61-58, allowing no field goals by the Lady Saints.
Nopuente led the Lady Bobcats with 14 points and three steals.
“We got overconfident,” Nopuente said. “We had to make sure [we won.]
Reames had an impressive defensive game with 10 rebounds and six blocks.
“I made sure we got the win,” Reames said. “Nothing else mattered.”
As a team, GCSU shot 30.8 percent from the floor, and 26.3 percent behind the arc.
Coach Carrick was grateful to have a chance in overtime.
“We didn’t wanna lose it,” Carrick said. “We had to make sure we got it back.”
The Lady Bobcats look to extend their winning streak to eight in another home game, Feb. 11 against Armstrong Atlantic State University.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Feb 6 2009. Filed under Sports.
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