The numbers on the scoreboard after the Tennessee-Georgia high school girls’ basketball all-star game Tuesday at Notre Dame may have been a direct reflection of the numbers on the benches.
The Georgia squad outnumbered the Tennessee players 14-8 and outscored them 62-56.
McMinn Central’s Kylie Lambert, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga signee, had already played in two all-star games, the limit for NCAA Division I signees. Sequatchie County’s Katherine Barker had a prior commitment at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp.
Tennessee coach Jason Hill, from Signal Mountain, said a decision was made to stay with the group he had, rather than try to make a couple of late additions. Although Tennessee fell behind for good late in the first quarter, Georgia did not own a double-digit lead until briefly early in the fourth quarter.
“Maybe it was stamina,” Hill said. “Georgia kept running five in, five out throughout the game. We felt like we could keep up with them, but in the long run our legs got a little tired on us.”
Tennessee went up 12-6 when Red Bank’s Takeya Day made a steal and layup with 3:51 left in the first quarter. Thirty seconds later, Georgia coach Lester Galyon made the second of his 14 substitutions. The first 12 were five-for-five.
“I’m used to it,” Galyon said of the strategy he’s used recently at Gordon Lee. “I didn’t know how the girls would take to it. They’re used to playing every minute in their high school games, they’re such good players.
“As a coach it makes it easier on me to get everybody in, and everybody wants to contribute.”
After Day’s field goal, the Tennessee team did not make another until Tennessee Temple’s Candace Dyer fed Baylor’s Kiera Payne for a layup on a fastbreak at 6:06 of the second quarter. In between, the Georgia team had gone on a 15-2 run and seized the advantage.
“I probably played about two or three minutes each quarter,” said Georgia’s Emily Broadrick from Dalton. “We all kind of understood yesterday in practice what what we were going to be doing. We figured having fresh legs would help.”
Thirteen of Georgia’s players scored, yet only Model’s Maci Siniard reached double figures. She had 12 points and was selected the Georgia player of the game. The overall most valuable player, Ieshia Alexander from Coosa, had nine points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds.
“I’ve never played at a level of basketball like this before,” Broadrick said. “It was so great being around all these talented girls.”
Lookout Valley’s April McCann, the Tennessee player of the game, scored 15 points. Payne added 10.
“The girls had great chemistry and they played unselfishly,” Hill said. “I was excited to get to coach this group of girls before they move on to the next level. Unfortunately I had to coach against them during the season. It was a blessing being on the other side.”
Dade County’s Lauren Grisham won the 3-point shooting contest at halftime.
GEORGIA GIRLS 62, TENNESSEE 56
Georgia 17 14 18 13 — 62
Tennessee 14 12 15 15 — 56
Georgia (62) — Farrer 4, McLin 3, Grisham 2, Alexander 9, Maci Siniard 12, Elkins 4, White 2, Foster 2, Paris 5, Bohannon 2, Wise 7, O’Neal 5, Witt, Broadrick 5.
Tennessee (56) — Davis 8, Hamby 9, Day 5, Kiera Payne 10, April McCann 15, May 3, Dyer 4, Hunt 2.
3-point goals: Georgia 3 (McLin, Wise, Paris); Tennessee 2 (Day, May). Highlights: Shelby Farrer 7 r, 4 b; Iesahia Alexander 5 a, 4 s (G).
