by Rusty Ellis
Gordonsville High School earned a pair of wins over county rival Smith County on Friday night, beginning with the Tigerettes’ win over the Lady Owls.
Gordonsville got off to a good start on both ends of the floor, as they locked down Smith County’s offense to the tune of eight first-quarter points. Add in 16 points of their own, and the Tigerettes held a 16-8 lead heading into the second quarter.
Smith County battled back into the game into the second, outscoring GHS 12-9 to cut the deficit down to just 25-20 at halftime.
Gordonsville once again stretched out the lead in the third quarter, as they used a 10-5 scoring advantage to take a 35-25 lead into the fourth. There, they got enough stops and knocked down free throws en route to a 47-41 win.
Kamara Young led the way for the Tigerettes with 12 points, while Libby Clark scored 11. Abigayle Hackett paced Smith County with 13 points.
Young’s contributions were not missed by head coach Jake Dillard, as he raved about the work she did in the paint for his team.
“She just absolutely cleaned the glass,” Dillard said. “I don’t think they had five offensive rebounds, and that was a huge key for us…you hold someone to 41 points, you should win the game. This is a tough place to play, so I’m proud of the effort.”
Defensively, Gordonsville kept Smith County off-balance all night. Dillard says he chalks that up to his team’s ability to get consistent pressure on the ball.
“Our press wore them down early, and I think they were more frustrated that we were able to handle their pressure,” Dillard said. “It took them out of their game-plan a little bit.”
As far as what he wants to see better, Dillard just wants consistency out of his unit.
“I’d love to have two great days,” Dillard said. “If you had asked me coming in if we were going to win this game, I would’ve probably said no because we’ve had two terrible practices…I’d love for us to be consistent. If we continue improving every day, we’ll be a tough team.”
The Tigers followed that up with a win of their own in the boys game, this one by a 55-44 count thanks to a 6-0 run in the final minute of the game.
Gordonsville jumped out to an early lead at 12-3 before Smith County made some defensive adjustments to cut the lead down to 12-9 heading into second.
The Owls then went to man-to-man defense and it allowed them to take control of the scoreboard in the second. When the horn sounded to send the game to halftime, it was Smith County who held a 26-17 lead.
Smith continued to push the lead in the third, as it hit double-digits multiple times, but Gordonsville remained within striking distance at 39-33 heading to the fourth.
Both teams went back-and-forth in the final frame, as the game was all knotted up at 44-44. Out of a timeout with just under a minute remaining, the Tigers closed the game on a 6-0 run to earn the 50-44 win.
Brayden Holliman led the way with 19 points for the Tigers, while Peyton Hix led Smith County with 12.
For head coach Greg Bibb, he says he was happy with how his team battled back in the fourth quarter. He also wants to see them play like that for an entire game.
“We came out and played really well early,” Bibb said. “They changed defenses and got really aggressive…we did a lot of individual stuff and that dug us a hole, but we fought out of it. It’s fun to see the effort the kids played with in the fourth quarter.”
Bibb kept things really simple with what he told them in the timeout before the big run, as they primarily went over what kind of shot they were looking for out of the possession.
He maintains that the biggest improvement he wants to see is consistent effort for all 32 minutes.
“Take that eight minutes, and turn it into 32,” Bibb said. “That’s the only time you’ll realize your true potential. If you take that kind of effort and love for each other and do it for an entire game, that’s when you’ll realize your true potential.”
Gordonsville will head to Jackson County on Dec. 6 for their next contest, while Smith County will take on Macon County on Saturday.
