Lady Patriots get blown away by Hurricanes
After a hard defensive battle, the Lady Patriots fell to Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) Saturday, Jan. 19 on their home court 56-77.
Senior guard Abigail Bullock led the team in scoring two games in a row, with an impressive three-pointer shot to tie the game 21-21 nearing the end of the second quarter. By half time GSW took the lead, ending the quarter with 28-22.
The Lady Patriots’ overall record is 6-6 and their record is 3-5 in the Peach Belt Conference.
“We just really needed this win,” Bullock said. “At this point every game counts.”
Junior center Tatyana McClaney played a hard defense and led the team with 9 rebounds and 3 blocks.
“I felt our defense wasn’t bad but we just weren’t knocking down our shots,” senior guard Shanice Fulmore said.
Having played and won against GSW on Dec. 17, the Lady Patriots used the same defensive strategy.
In the first half, the game was a battle of intense defense. Both teams were executing defensive plays and stayed back-to-back with scoring.
Forward Briana Burgins and center Zaria Woods trailed behind Bullock, scoring the second most points of the game. Woods scored the first opening five points of the game.
Defense and transitions were smooth in the first half and scoring was neck and neck, but after the first half, the team’s defense as a whole began to decline in intensity.
At the beginning of the third quarter, head coach Jeri Porter benched all of her starters and let the second string start off the quarter. The second string played hard, but GSW still remained in the lead.
“We have to work on being able to execute defense even when the offense is not on point,” Porter said. “Most of the time our defense is fueled by the success of our offense.”
FMU senior Donzell Bailey came to show his support at the game Saturday afternoon.
“The girls started off playing hard defense, but they lost momentum after the first half,” Bailey said.
