The Gatewood basketball team, led by head coach Ferdinand Farley, opened with a solid 57-28 win at Rock Springs Christian last Tuesday, then followed up two days later at home with a 47-22 victory over Briarwood Academy.
The brief winning streak came to an end Friday night in Sandersville, however, as number-one-ranked Brentwood dominated in a 47-20 decision over Gatewood.
Senior Riley Roberts and junior Lauren Paxson led the way for the Lady Gators against Rock Springs with 17 and 15 points, respectively. They were only two players to reach double digits, but seven other Gatewood players figured in the scoring.
The Gatewood girls were at home in Eatonton last Thursday, where senior Natalie Sills led a more balanced attack against the visiting Lady Buccaneers with a 10-point effort. Paxson and sophomore Bela Smith contributed 9 points apiece, with Roberts and Ellie McMillian each adding 8 of their own to make up the bulk of Gatewood’s scoring.
In Friday night’s game against Brentwood, the Lady Gators struggled to score from the start, putting only two points on the board in the opening quarter and trailing 26-7 at halftime. Gatewood scored a high of just nine points in the third quarter, to 20 by the home team.
Even with Brentwood adding only one point with its substitutes playing the final quarter, the Lady Gators mustered only four points of their own to reach the final tally.
The Lady Gators, ranked 3rd in region play (17-5, 4-3), will wrap up their regular season with a 6 p.m. start this Friday at Central Fellowship Christian Academy in Macon.
Fifth-ranked CFCA (9-11, 0-6) will still have three more games to play, including one more in-region contest, to finish its regular season after the Gatewood visit.