Forsyth Central High School

Basketball: Lady Dawgs stop slide against Cass

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Struggling Cass ran into Forsyth Central at the worst possible time.

Three straight losses by 14 points or more had the Lady Bulldogs fuming, and they took out their angst on the second-to-last Lady Colonels in a 61-27 victory.

“We came out trying to redeem ourselves,” said forward Kayla Richards, who scored a game-high 21 points. “It was just such a relief to get that first win back under our belt after we had a tough time with the last three games.”

Central swatted away 24 shots, reaped 21 steals and held Cass to nine points or less in every quarter. The Dawgs’ man-to-man limited the Colonels’ trips across the D.B. Carroll Complex’s half-court stripe, and the visitors were hard-pressed to work the ball into the paint.

When they did, nearly every shot was contested, especially during the final three quarters.

“We win with our defense,” Central coach Andy Martin said. “We always have. Even when we had a bunch of scorers, still, our defense has dictated our tempo and our offense. … You know, the rim seems to get a little bit bigger when you’re able to get turnovers and steals.”

Room for improvement remains even after snapping a three-game skid that included losses to Lambert, Rome and Creekview. Central struggled shooting early and was outrebounded 31-20 against a team that’s won two games all year.

With contests left against Chattahoochee, Johns Creek, Sequoyah, South Forsyth and Lambert to close out the regular season, the fourth-place Dawgs (14-6, 6-4 Region 7-AAAA) now have ground to make up in the region standings.

Their coach hopes the blowout can carry them through the final stretch.

“It feels unbelievable, for all of us,” Martin said, “you know, like a big monkey’s off our back, and that’s good. You’ve just got to appreciate that and appreciate the win. It was heaven-sent, and we’re grateful for that. So yeah, hopefully we can get a winning streak going now.”

Some of the pains present during Central’s skid — the only time they’ve lost consecutives games since the 2009-10 season — hung around for a quarter Saturday. So did Cass (2-16, 1-8), which trailed 13-9 heading into the second. The Bulldogs missed seven of their first nine shots and corralled only three rebounds in the opening period.

Then, the clouds seem to lift.

“We got our tempo up, got a few turnovers,” Richards said. “That got the ball rolling for the rest of the game.”

Martin employed his patented full-court, matchup press to start the second. Cass turned the ball over 13 times and converted one field goal.

Richards led the offensive charge in the frame, scoring seven points and hitting a right-wing 3-pointer that gave Central a 28-11 advantage with 2:11 to go. Point guard Keeley Chester drew a foul on her running, one-handed bank shot early in the period, which the Bulldogs opened on a 19-2 run.

Chester scored just five points but was instrumental on defense with six blocks and four steals. The Bulldogs spread their scoring out behind Richards and Chester, far-and-away the team’s leading offensive producers.

“It was not being able to put a group out there on the court and have people step up and make things happen” that contributed the most to Central’s recent struggles, Martin said. “I hope what it is is just an old-fashioned slump that several people were in. That’d be the ideal thing.”

Shooting guard Morgan Shobbe was one of six other Dawgs to score. Six of her eight points came in the third as Central outscored Cass 17-8 and took a 51-22 lead into the fourth.

There, another positive sign emerged.

In her first varsity action since being called up from junior varsity, Freshman Peyton Ledford scored nine of the Bulldogs’ 10 points in the final frame. Her efforts have brought a renewed sense of competition to practices, Martin said, and he hopes her presence can provide a bit more depth for a team desperate for it.

“She’s as athletic as can be, and she’s hungry,” the coach said. “She showed some hunger tonight when she went out there, and I’m hoping that’s contagious. It can work backwards like that, where a youngling can come in and kind of demonstrate.”

Results from Tuesday evening’s game at Chattahoochee were unavailable as of press time. Central hosts Johns Creek at 7 p.m. Friday.