CALHOUN, Ga. -- By any standard of basketball, Monday night should have been the end of the road for the Calhoun Lady Yellow Jackets.
Facing traditional power Washington County in the GHSA Class AAA second round of the playoffs, Calhoun -- and there's no other way to sum it up -- stunk it up in the first half. Jerry Pruett's team scored all of 13 points in the first 16 minutes, shooting a putrid 5-for-29 from the field.
Washington County's Daknequa White (23), top right, reaches in as Calhoun's Jana Johns (21) attempts to get control of a loose ball early in a 51-45 Lady Jackets overtime win Monday at Calhoun. Washington County's Daavaneck Brookins (12) looses her footing, below, and Calhoun's Kyleigh Carrey (12), top, moves in to help. It was the second round of the Georgia state basketball tournament.Well, here they are today preparing for a quarterfinal home game against East Hall after rallying for a 51-45 overtime win. The game was, as Pruett admitted afterward, a microcosm of the team's season.
"We do win ugly at times," Pruett said, laughing, "but I don't care how we do it as long as we get it done. I give them a lot of free rein so they're not scared. Sometimes we take some bad shots or make some poor decisions, but I don't take them out, because in the next moment they will make a great play. Sometimes you have to give a little if you want to get a lot.
"The girls are confident they can win against anybody."
The team's 25-4 record more than proves that point. The Lady Jackets usually go only seven deep, with reserves Calli Davis and Daisy Carpenter joining starters Sydnie Parker, Jana Johns, Ashlyn Barnes, Kyleigh Carney and Tamia Wade in the rotation. The extended playing time gives the players time to work through slow starts.
Take Monday, for instance. Johns, the team's hottest scorer of late, had just four points in the first half but scorched WACO for 24 in the final 16 minutes with a myriad of relentless, athletic drives. Parker, the team's other key scorer, had just five points, though her 3-pointer to start overtime was a key bucket. She also blocked five shots and collected 11 rebounds.
Wade, who did not score, had 13 rebounds, several on the offensive end that led to scores.
"We work well together," Wade said. "If I can't shoot, somebody else will. We're kind of like a puzzle in that we fit so well together as a team. Most teams can't pull it together at the end, but we can, no matter how far we're down."
Twice during the season the Lady Jackets trailed Region 6-AAA rivals but rallied to win. And they trailed Ringgold in the region championship round before scoring four points in the final seconds to win. Calhoun's first-round playoff game against Haralson County was nearly a disaster as the visitors had 31 offensive rebounds.
None of it matters, Pruett's players say.
"A win's a win in our book," Parker said. "There was no doubt in our minds during Monday's game that we were going to play on Wednesday. We have the ability to bring each other up when we're down. Even if nothing is going our way we can pull through somehow."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.