In what has been an up-and-down season so far, Gatewood’s Lady Gators (9-11, 0-2) have struggled lately, winning just once in the last six games and currently trying to break a three-game losing streak.
The most recent losses came last Tuesday at home with a 63-46 decision going to Piedmont Academy, followed by a 53-26 loss to Brentwood in Sandersville last Friday night.
Gatewood won the opening quarter 12-10 over Piedmont, but by halftime, the Lady Gators were down 32-26. After managing just five points in the third quarter, the visitors were up 45-31 going into the final eight minutes.
“We came out hot, just played well, really together with some spark under us, and we did a very good job. And I thought the second quarter was good although I thought we trailed off a little bit at the end,” Gatewood head coach Jordan Walters said. “We were down at halftime, but overall did pretty well. We had some subbing that we had to do with fouls, but I thought we kept our composure for the most part.
“The third quarter killed us. Fourth quarter we started fighting back, but that third quarter I thought just hurt us too much and we didn’t have enough time to recover.”
Walters explained that she and her assistants have been challenging her players all year to stay engaged throughout the entire ballgame and remain consistent in completing the details of their assignments.
“Every game that we’ve lost, I feel like there’s been that one quarter that just hurt us and that’s kind of the trend that’s continuing,” she said. “We’re just challenging them to stay focused and figure out how to get past the hump and not have those mental lapses where we get so far behind. We just don’t have time to come back and get the win after that happens.”
She added the teams’ turnover goal is to keep them down to 15 or less, but Tuesday’s game saw at least 22 go in Piedmont’s favor.
“There’s no reason to do it, just flailing the ball instead of making a sharp pass,” Walters said. “That’s what we talk about after the game, the same message continues to be repeated, and it’s that the game is in your hands. Every reason we’re losing is on us.
“We’ve played some good teams, but I don’t feel like we’ve lost any ballgames only because another team is better. I feel like every time we’ve lost, and we have 10 of them right now, all of them are because of things that are in our hands. Whether it was free throws, turnovers, whether it’s miscommunications or misassignments on defense; whatever it is, it is in our hands to decide what we’re going to do with the rest of the games.”
Up next for the Lady Gators is a Tuesday-night tilt at home (after press time) against Westminster Christian Academy (6-11, 0-2), before the team visits Monticello on Friday for a chance at redemption against Piedmont (12-7, 2-0).