Rims were tight for Warner Robins on a poor shooting night in state championship defeat
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Rebecca White’s memory was tested on an evening she wanted to remember little of.
When was the last time she was part of a game that was so uncharacteristically subpar to the point of only five points in a quarter?
“Probably,” the Warner Robins head coach said, managing a smile, “when I coached rec ball.”
White chose to point out the experience and season after Warner Robins had an epically chilly shooting night in falling 57-36 to Kell in the GHSA Class AAAA girls championship Thursday at the Macon Coliseum.
The normally efficient Demonettes (28-4) could never get going in any form or fashion on offense.
They made only 11 shots overall, four 3-pointers, coughed it up 19 times, and were the victims of 14 steals.
“The ball was just bouncing around the rim,” White said. “It just really wasn’t falling. Some things we normally hit, it was just rolling around the rim and wasn’t going in.”
It was 2-2 a minute into the game, but the game went downhill from there for Warner Robins, which didn’t score again until two Chelsea Thomas free throws with 33 seconds left in the quarter.
Kell (26-5) had 17 by that point for a 12-point lead after one.
The break between quarters didn’t prove to help or calm Warner Robins down, although the Demonettes did manage a spurt to get within eight with 2:01 left on a three-point play by Jada Morgan.
The margin was 11 at halftime, and the numbers for both teams weren’t too hot.
The Longhorns were connecting only 30.8 percent of the time, and hit only one of 12 3-pointers. Warner Robins was plus 6 in rebounds, but that didn’t matter much against an 18.2-percent start from the floor – 4 for 22, 1 for 7 on 3s – and 14 turnovers.
The makeable margin pretty much evaporated by the midway point of the third quarter when Kell opened up a 19-point lead that maxed out at 21 for the quarter.
Warner Robins could get no run toward a more respectable score going in the fourth, falling behind 24, which is where it was until Morgan’s 3-pointer with 25 seconds left.
“I was proud of ‘em before the game started,” White said. “I’m still proud of ‘em.”
Guard Krystal Henderson had a monster evening for Kell with 29 points on 11 of 23 shooting, plus eight rebounds. Jamiah Gregory added 15 points and seven rebounds in helping Kell to a state title in its first try.
Morgan and Tori Davis each had eight for Warner Robins, held to its lowest point total of the season and only game under 40 points, coming less than a week after scoring 62 against Calhoun in the semifinal.
“The blessing is I have five sophomores and two juniors,” White said. “And I promise you, we’ll be back.”