More work pays off for Smith, Gleason

By RANDY CAVIN
Press Sports
Extra pregame work paid off for Gleason’s Calay Smith as she helped the Lady Bulldogs keep pace with Dresden in a tight District 13A race.
The Gleason boys came up short in a bid to win a second straight game Tuesday night against Big Sandy.
Head Coach Joel Ayers worked with Smith on her 3-point shooting before the game against Big Sandy, and it paid off in a big way as she made three from downtown in the fourth period to help the Lady Bulldogs pick up a 51-48 win.
The Bulldogs used a 16-1 run in the final stanza to pull within four, only to see the Red Devils score 10 of the final 13 points of the game in a 56-45 defeat.
The Lady Bulldogs are now sitting at 13-8 overall, but more importantly they are 10-2 in the district and one game back of Dresden. The Bulldogs fall to 2-19 on the season and 2-10 in the district. Both teams travel to Bruceton Friday night with a huge game against Dresden coming up on Tuesday night.
Gleason 51, BS 48 (G)
It was a big night for several of Gleason’s players, but none more so than for Smith. She hit three 3-pointers in the fourth period and went 4-of-5 from behind the arc for the game and scored 14 points.
Ayers had Smith working on the arc of her 3-point shooting in pregame warm-ups, and the dividends paid off.
“She made some shots tonight and she made some big ones,” Ayers said. “She did a great job tonight and played well tonight. I’m glad her last one went in. If it had been a miss, it might have been a different outcome.”
Briana Jones had a huge first period, scoring 12 of Gleason’s 15 points. But with two quick fouls late in the period, Ayers decided to sit her out for the final nine minutes of the half.
Jones opened up the third period with five quick points, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key. With Jones scoring at will, the Lady Red Devils shifted their defense. The five points from Jones were the only points Gleason scored in the period.
Jones led all Gleason scorers with 19 points.
“She was on a roll tonight and playing well,” Ayers said. “She still played well in the second half and, when a girl is playing well and has to go out of the basketball game, you need to make some adjustments, but it can be hard on the team to make those adjustments sometime.”
With Big Sandy’s defense focusing on Jones, it opened up the opportunities for Smith to get open in the fourth period for her 3-point shooting.
Jaclyn Montgomery also had a big night at the free throw line, scoring all of her eight points from the line — including the two with 4.6 seconds to play to give Gleason a three-point lead.
The Lady Bulldogs hit 20-of-23 from the line.
Alex King and Kim Quick each scored four points for Gleason. Luz Mena had a game-high 23 for Big Sandy and also grabbed 15 rebounds.
Gleason 45, BS 56 (B)
Poor free throw shooting by the Bulldogs and big third period by Big Sandy was too much for Gleason to overcome. The Bulldogs went a measly 8-of-21 from the line.
Down only 24-21 at the half, Gleason saw its shooting go cold in the third period.
The Red Devils scored the first 11 points of the period and outscored the Bulldogs 21-5.
Trailing by 19 to start the fourth period, the Bulldogs went on a run of their own.
Gleason outscored the Red Devils 16-2 in the first four minutes of the fourth, scoring the first eight points, to make the score 46-42.
That was as close as they could get to Big Sandy. The Red Devils scored 10 of the final 13 points of the game to seal the victory.
“We were basically dead in the water there at the end of the third quarter, and I challenged them there at the start of the fourth quarter,” Gleason head coach Jamie Roney said. “I told them they had eight minutes to play and they had to decide if they wanted to get pounded into the ground or if they wanted to fight their way back in it. They fought back and made it a four-point game.
“Momentum right now is like it is sitting on fence and keeps falling off on the other side. We went 8-of-21 from the line, and you are not going to win any ballgames shooting like that. And, the 21-5 third quarter killed us.”
Alex Hahn and Austin Perry both had a big game for the Bulldogs. Hahn shared the game-high with Big Sandy’s Zach Phifer with 18 points. Hahn scored 15 of his points in the first half and went 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Perry scored eight points to go with his 15 rebounds. Published in The WCP 1.26.12

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