Georgia Northwestern's Lady Bobcats won their third consecutive game and enjoyed their biggest margin of victory of the season with a 61-40 win over Trinity Baptist College on the second day of the Lady Bobcat Holiday Bash in Rossville on Saturday.
The Navy-and-Silver enjoyed a nine-point lead in the first quarter as they went on to a wire-to-wire victory over the Jacksonville, Fla. squad. Gracen Hobbs hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the first half as Georgia Northwestern took a 33-19 lead at the break.
The Lady Bobcats (4-6) would put it on cruise control from there, holding the Lady Eagles to just 25 percent shooting for the game.
It was a balanced scoring night for the home team. Hobbs finished with five 3-pointers and 17 total points to go with 10 rebounds. Abby Dalton poured in 12 points, followed by Jerriale Jackson with 11 and Mia Clark with 10. Clark connected on three 3-pointers, while Jackson cleaned the glass for 18 rebounds, giving the freshman 34 boards over her last two games.
Tori Harvey had five points, eight rebounds and four assists in the win. Katelyn O'Toole chipped in with four points and Destiny Willbanks added two.
Madison O'Day had 15 points for Trinity Baptist, although the Lady Bobcats held her to just two points in the second half. Melanie Newton added 10 points in the loss.
Southeastern Baptist College men 76, Georgia Northwestern 68
Earlier in the day, the Bobcats (2-6) saw a late rally fall short as they lost in the Rossville Athletic Center.
The Bobcats led by as many as 11 points in the first half before taking a 32-25 lead into the break. However, the home team would sputter on offense as the second half begin, allowing the Chargers to come all the way back.
Trajan Fielder gave SBC its first lead, 44-43, on a basket with 12:06 to play and the visitors from Laurel, Miss. would stretch their lead to as much as 10 points with seven minutes remaining.
The GNTC rally began with a 3-pointer by Cole McKeehan with 6:42 to play as the Bobcats slowly but surely begin to chip away at the lead. A dunk by Jayce Harris off an assist from J.T. Langford, was followed by a 3-point play from Langford, which cut the lead to 68-66 with 1:28 remaining.
However, the Bobcats would score just two more points the rest of the way as the Chargers connected on 8-of-8 free throws in the final 2:58 to salt it away.
Harris led the Bobcats with 16 points. Kannen Derryberry connected on four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. Justin Smith went for 11 points, while Langford and Jeremy Wilson both finished with seven. Jarret Gill had six points. Mark Chester had four points and a team-high nine rebounds, while McKeehan's trey accounted for all of his points on the day.
Georgia Northwestern was its own worst enemy with 26 total turnovers.
Fielder led three Chargers in double figures with a game-high 28 points, while Chavis Smith finished with 14.
The Lady Bobcats will play their final game of the 2018 calendar year on Monday when they host Southern Crescent Tech at 4:30 p.m. at the R.A.C. Georgia Northwestern will be looking to avenge a 75-42 road loss to the Lady Tigers from Griffin, Ga. in the first game of the season.
The Bobcats will be back in action again at home on Dec. 15 against West Georgia Tech..
GEORGIA NORTHWESTERN WOMEN 61, TRINITY BAPTIST COLLEGE 40
Georgia Northwestern (4-6)
Gracen Hobbs 17, Abby Dalton 12, Jerriale Jackson 11, Mia Clark 10, Harvey 5, O'Toole 4, Willbanks 2, Carr. Jackson 18 rebounds
Trinity Baptist (N/A)
Madison O'Day 15, Melanie Newton 10, Smith 4, Brown 4, Green 3, Michelle Jones 2, Julian 2, Moesha Jones, Ingram, Majors.
Halftime: Georgia Northwestern 33, Trinity Baptist 19
SOUTHEASTERN BAPTIST COLLEGE 76, GEORGIA NORTHWESTERN MEN 68
Southeastern Baptist (N/A)
Trajan Fielder 28, Chavis Smith 14, Trey Cook 11, De'Arius Henyard 10, Grover 5, Early 4, Philliips 2, Purdy 2, Currie, Singleton, Green, Pruitt.
Georgia Northwestern (2-6)
Jayce Harris 16, Kannen Derryberry 14, Justin Smith 11, Langford 7, Wilson 7, Gill 6, Chester 4, McKeehan 3, Murphy 0
Halftime: Georgia Northwestern 32, Southeastern Baptist 25