Heritage Lady Generals wake up late, top GPS in Best of Preps tournament

Basketball tile
Basketball tile

Heritage came out sluggish Thursday morning, but juniors Ansley Bice and Emily Wiley carried the Lady Generals offensively to a 48-45 victory against GPS in the opening game of the annual Times Free Press Best of Preps basketball tournament at Chattanooga State.

Heritage (8-4) swung the ball early but missed open shots and committed turnovers, helping GPS (6-4) push ahead 15-5 after the first quarter.

"I don't think we're a morning team," Heritage coach Eddie Bryant said. "Since the holidays, we've been practicing at 9 o'clock, and that's how we practice - how we played in the first half. We look like a bunch of zombies walking around."

The Bruisers maintained their lead until late in the third quarter. With 1:15 left in the period, Bice made two 3-pointers and converted a steal into a layup. Combined with a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Nicole Fine, it cut the Bruisers' lead to 34-33.

"They were just outplaying us, but I was just getting pumped up," Bice said. "I tried to tell the team to get pumped up and show them that we're still in this."

Said Bryant: "I think she's the best point guard in North Georgia."

A 3-pointer by Haley Phillips with 1:12 left gave the Lady Generals their first lead since 2-0, and they played keep-away for much of the final minute to preserve the win.

Wiley finished with a game-high 20 points and Bice added 18 as no other Heritage player contributed more than three.

Sophomore starter Ariana Camp rolled an ankle in the first two minutes of the game after converting an offensive rebound for two points. She was already nursing an injury to her other ankle, and it's questionable whether she will play in today's 4 p.m. semifinal against Meigs County.

Hannah Sanders scored 13 points and Mackenzie Jennings 12 for GPS, which takes on Notre Dame this morning at 10.

"Thank goodness we're not playing early," Bryant said.

Contact Mark Pace at mpace@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6361. Follow him on Twitter @themarkpace and on Facebook @Chattanooga Outdoors.

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