Gordon Lee’s Kassidy Blevins (5) dribbles upcourt past Darlington’s Maggie Beth Atha (5) Friday at Gordon Lee.CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. – Lester Galyon didn’t sound like a coach who had just lost a basketball game on his home court against one of his biggest rivals.
The Gordon Lee High School girls’ coach, having just witnessed his team rally several times only to fall short against Darlington, 74-71, has reason to be in a good mood. Following next week’s Region 6-A tournament, the Lady Trojans will not have to play another private school.
Galyon wasn’t pleased with the way his team was outmuscled inside by the Lady Tigers, who had a huge rebounding edge, but he likes the Lady Trojans’ postseason prospects if they fix that issue.
“I feel good about our chances,” he said. “I know once we get into our [public school] tournament we won’t see any teams better than the ones in our region like Darlington and Southwest Atlanta Christian. But we have to do a better job on the boards. I was told they out-rebounded us by 30, and it’s hard to beat a team when you give them three and four shots at a time.”
Darlington (18-6, 10-2) parlayed the strong inside game of Terar Stewart (22 points, 13 rebounds) into a 38-34 halftime lead that could have been more if not for 15 first-half turnovers. A 9-2 run early in the third period, capped by a Stewart putback, propelled the Lady Tigers to a 50-39 lead, but Gordon Lee (19-6, 9-3) wouldn’t go away.