Lovejoy Back To GHSA Semifinals With Win Over Gainesville, Sixth Appearance In Eight Seasons
As the Georgia High School Association basketball state championship tournaments resumed on Tuesday, the Lovejoy Wildcats girls basketball team hosted the Gainesville Red Elephants in a Class 6A quarterfinals matchup. The two teams entered Tuesday’s contest with nearly identical records as the Wildcats were at 24-5 prior to the start and Gainesville, 23-5. And while the game started with the score remaining relatively close for the first few minutes, once the Wildcats took their first four point lead at 8-4, momentum quickly sung in their favor as they closed out the period with an 18-8 lead.
The story of the night however began in the second as Lovejoy’s defensive strategies went into full gear forcing several Red Elephants’ turnovers, which would lead to the Wildcats outscoring Gainesville 25-9 in the quarter to take a 43-17 at halftime. Unable to be affective offensively, the Red Elephants continued to struggle against the Wildcats’ defense as Lovejoy would go on to pick up the 79-34 win, advancing to the GHSA 6A semifinals, their sixth appearance in eight seasons under head coach, Cedric King.
“Game plan discipline. We came with a game plan, the kids were able to execute,” King said following the win. Now with three days to prepare for their next opponent in Brunswick, who they will face on Saturday, King says he just wants to see his team “continue to get better,” as they build off of Tuesday’s win. “Get better at what we do and try to make our better, better than what anybody can try to bring to us. If we can do that and just compete, we can live with the results,” King said.
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