CLEVELAND, Ga. — When they needed, well, anything, White County turned to Kylie Watkins. And she did not disappoint.
The senior center poured in 20 points, pulled down 15 rebounds, and blocked 6 shots to lead the Lady Warriors to a key early-season 59-50 Region 6-3A win over Chestatee Tuesday night at home.
“She can play inside, she can play outside, she has such a long wing-span that she is a shot-changer and a shot blocker,” White County coach Steve Shedd said. “She was really good tonight on both ends.”
The win for Class 3A 10th-rated White County (7-2, 2-0 Region 6-3A) kept them unbeaten atop the region standings and was their fourth straight win overall.
But they will not jump back into region play until January.
“It was important to get this one for sure,” he said. “We still have two games with (No. 1) Pickens coming up and we have to go back to Chestatee, and I’m sure they’re going to keep getting better. It’s a tough region and every win is a big one.”
For Chestatee (3-4, 0-2 Region 6-3A) it was the second consecutive loss, both in region play, to Pickens and now White County, the two favored teams coming into the season. But coach Sutton Shirley said they are building toward the region tournament and every game right now is a learning opportunity for his group.
“We played a very difficult non-region schedule on purpose so that we could get ready for a tough region schedule,” Shirley said. “We’re still figuring some things out but I was proud of how we came back against a very good team tonight.”
The Lady Warriors never trailed. But also never broke free from the Lady War Eagles until the fourth quarter. They built an early 19-9 lead in the opening period on an 8-0 run sparked by 3-pointers from Mya Yeh and Emma Lightsey.
However, a pair of 3-pointers by Caroline Bull and one free throw from Ali Jae Bull got Chestatee within 29-26. But White County ended the half on a 5-0 run on a pair of free throws by Kalynn Watkins for a 31-26 lead at the break.
Chestatee was 6-of-14 from 3-point range in the opening half while the Lady Warriors hit three of their seven 3-point attempts.
In the third quarter, Chestatee opened with a 7-2 run to pull even at 33 on another 3-pointer from Caroline Bull. White County would take a 42-37 lead into the fourth quarter on a basket by Kylie Watkins.
The Lady War Eagles rallied again to tie the game at 42 but then White County exploded for a 58-45 lead, capped by another basket from Watkins over a four minute stretch while Chestatee went 1-for-8 from the field.
“We feel like that when we're on our game we can compete and play with anybody,” Shedd said. “We've got some depth and they’re starting to really step up when we call on them.”
Yeh had 11 points for White County. Lightsey and Ella Kate Shedd both finished with 9 points for the Lady Warriors.
Caroline Bull led Chestatee with 15 points, all on 3-pointers. Addison Boyd added 9 points for the Lady War Eagles.
Both teams will close out their early region schedules on Friday before grading into the Christmas tournament season. Chestatee will play host to Greater Atlanta Christian while White County travels to Johnson.
WHITE COUNTY BOYS 61,
CHESTATEE 49
White County got its first Region 6-3A win of the season and snapped a three-game losing streak at the same time on Tuesday night at home.
The Warriors (2-6, 1-1 Region 6-3A) opened the game with a 15-7 run and never trailed again. The War Eagles pulled to within four points early in the second but White County used a 14-6 run to close out the half for a 32-20 lead.
Chestatee opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run to get within four points again but again the Warriors answered. This time with a 12-3 spurt for a 44-31 lead heading into the final period.
But that’s as close as they could get as White County was able to maintain a double-digit lead over the final four minutes.
Blayne Gunter paced White County with 16 points. Dawson Oliver added 14 points, and Cohen Michaud, John Phillips, and Tristan Orndorff all had 9 points. Orndorff's came on three 3-pointers for the Warriors.
Chestatee was led by Ethan Dunn’s 16 points. Sebastian Spinelli had 13, including three 3-pointers, and Cody Couch 9 points, including a pair of treys, for the War Eagles.
