RINGGOLD, Ga. – If there’s one thing Margaret Stockburger has learned in her long, successful basketball coaching career, it’s to never put too much emphasis on one game, either before or afterward.
Still, the Ringgold High School girls’ coach couldn’t help but admit that Tuesday night’s 59-33 thrashing of Region 6-AAA rival Calhoun was at least a bit bigger than most regular-season games.
The two last met in last season’s region final, where Calhoun prevailed in a game Stockburger’s Lady Tigers led until the final second. So it was only natural that Ringgold, returning nearly every member of that team, was out for a tidy taste of revenge.
“Of course, there’s always extra motivation in games like this,” Stockburger admitted, “but we tried not to look ahead until today, and after tonight we won’t think about them again until the next time. It was a sweet win, but it was still just a win.
“We didn’t want to bring up too much what happened at the region tournament, because we had to put it behind us. It was a battle last year with them, and it will be this year.”
Ringgold (4-0, 4-0) led 8-0 after two minutes and never was challenged as the team’s talented backcourt of Kiana Dale and Karoline Sholl controlled the tempo of play and the inside tandem of Bethany Headrick and Dare Schley controlled the backboards.
A Dale jumper from just inside the 3-point line gave Ringgold that early knockdown and caused Calhoun coach Jerry Pruett to use the first of his three early timeouts. The score was 11-6 after Calhoun’s Ashlyn Barnes made a layup, but the Lady Tigers closed the first quarter with a 6-1 run, including back-to-back layups from Headrick and Sydney Shutters, for a 17-7 lead.
The lead never went under double digits as Sholl nailed another 3 and Headrick scored eight consecutive points while Ringgold soared to a 30-13 advantage. A Dale 3-pointer and a Rachel Thomas layup put the Lady Tigers up 39-17 at halftime and into cruise mode.
“It sets a statement, but of course they are going to come back every single time and play harder, and we’ve got to do that as well,” said Dale, who had a season-high 17 points and added four steals. “It lifts some weight off our shoulders, of course, and it’s a feeling you won’t forget even though it’s a regular-season game.”
Headrick had her usual strong all-around game with 14 points and 13 rebounds, with Sholl getting 10 points, Schley 10 rebounds and Thomas seven rebounds to go with eight points. It was the kind of team effort that makes even a veteran coach smile.
“I just felt we played really well,” Stockburger said. “We’re sharing the basketball with each other. The girls aren’t selfish, and that makes a big difference. That makes us be more of a threat. So far this year we’ve played very good defense, and that’s where it all starts.”
Calhoun (2-3, 0-1) was led by Jana Johns and Barnes with nine points each.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22.