Warner Robins basketball claws back to win region opener against Ware County; No. 1 Demonettes win 13th straight, open region play with big victory over No. 5 Lady Gators

WARNER ROBINS — It looked like Warner Robins (6-4, 1-0 Region 1-4A) might roll over early in their 72-66 win over the Ware County Gators (9-4, 0-1 Region), but Gabe Jacobs came alive in the second half to give the Demons their first win since Dec. 7, 2024.

Here are three observations:

Strong second-half showing by Gabe Jacobs

Ware County held Gabe Jacobs to one point in the first half, which was a big reason the Demons faced a double-digit deficit for much of the period.

At one point, the Gators were up 20, but Warner Robins chipped away and brought it to 40-31 at halftime.

One of the things that kept Jacobs quiet was Ware County face guarding him with their lengthier defenders. The Demons tried to work the ball to him using screens but weren’t successful.

In the second half they instead put the ball in Jacobs’ hands and that allowed him to get downhill and earn opportunities at the free throw line.

It was arguably the biggest catalyst in Warner Robins’ comeback effort as he had 18 of his 19 team-high points in the second half.

“Seeing how they were playing defense on him, they was just going to be body to body with him, so we just decided let’s give him the ball [to] bring the ball up the floor and he initiates the offense,” said Demons coach Jamaal Garman. “At the beginning of the second half when he came out and got that left hand layup to go, it was all downhill from there. So we just adjusted that a little bit…today he was gonna be the one to initiate the offense and he did a great job with it today.”

Living without Trey Bradley

Senior guard Trey Bradley was in street clothes on Friday, and Warner Robins sorely missed his creation abilities.

Bradley has the most consistent self-creation abilities on the team, and when teams are packing the paint and contesting shots like Ware County that offense is missed.

Warner Robins managed to spread that responsibility around with more success in the second half as they got downhill and to the free throw line. It’s something they might have to do more often as they wait for Bradley’s return.

“We were able to spread that part of the game out to different guys…instead of one person bringing it up, we had four or five different people bringing the ball up the floor. It helped with putting other guys in a position to be successful. We found one or two plays on offense that were very very successful, so we just stuck with it,” Garman said.

Long shots, long rebounds

The downfall of Ware County can partially be attributed to their gluttonous diet of 3-point shots — many of which clanked off the rim.

Those long shots turned into long rebounds, which the Demons snagged and used to get out in transition, attacking the Gators and keeping them on their heels.

Even though Warner Robins didn’t produce a surplus of efficient offense, Ware County’s poor shooting helped pull them back into the game.

“We always tell them, long shots, long rebounds. So they were already prepared for it mentally to just box your man up and prepare for [the ball] to go over your head. So box out, push, push, push and jump. They did a real good job of that today,” Garman said. “Just excited about how they came back and won this game. That’s big for these guys mentally, and we should see a better game tomorrow.”

Demonettes 59, Lady Gators 44

No. 5 Ware County (13-3, 0-1 Region 1-4A) is No. 1 Warner Robins’ biggest threat in the region on paper, but the Demonettes (13-0, 1-0 Region) took care of business in the second half to put away the Lady Gators 59-44 in the region opener.

Three observations from Friday’s renewed rivalry:

Biggest threat to a region championship

On paper, Ware County is the biggest threat to a Warner Robins region championship.

They have size to attack the Demonettes on the glass with Rhianna Mateyka (6-foot), Shardell Vickers (5-foot-9) and Bre Hill (6-foot-3). They have the shooting to offset the zone defense with Bailey Denton and Lydia Munford and 13 wins on their record.

Munford did hit her fair share of 3-pointers, but it wasn’t enough to offset the advantage of the 2-3 zone that forced so many turnovers and got Warner Robins out in transition.

The Demonettes also did a better-than-usual job of closing out the defensive glass and pulling down some long rebounds on offense, which is what got their offense going in the last three quarters.

It’s far from over, being the region opener, but it was a great start for a Warner Robins team that’s looked unstoppable at times this year.

“I think we came out pretty solid, pretty good,” said Demonettes coach Rebecca White. “We were high energy, the third quarter was very impressive for us, we won it 21-11. That’s been one of our focal points. Overall their cohesiveness together [is good], they’re playing together, I think they came out well.”

Outdoing size with speed

As mentioned, Ware County certainly holds the size advantage over Warner Robins. That’s not too hard considering the Demonettes don’t have much in terms of verticality, but the Lady Gators’ two bigs Vickers and Hill paired with Mateyka’s length at forward posed a couple of problems.

On the handful of one-on-one post opportunities Ware County got they converted with relative ease. But Warner Robins didn’t often let them get that far.

Even on the offensive boards, somewhere opponents are often able to take advantage of the Demonettes, the Lady Gators didn’t get much outside of some long rebounds. It wasn’t an easy put back when they secured them, either. Plenty of shots either rolled off the rim or were taken away by Warner Robins.

When the Demonettes closed out a possession, they bolted out in transition especially in the third quarter, where they put the game away.

Warner Robins won the third period 21-11 and started out on a 13-3 run in the first four minutes.

Getting out in the fast break like they did negated the Lady Gators’ size advantage, one reason why it’s so important for the Demonettes this season.

“Just getting up and down the court, outrunning them, that’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” White said. “Going up and down the floor, that’ll tire somebody out, and I think we were able to do that.”

Respect the jumper

Korveanna Slaughter is reaching the peak of her high school abilities, if she’s not there already.

The biggest talking point surrounding the senior guard, who didn’t play her freshman year due to injury, was her improved confidence in her 3-point shooting.

Against Ware County, the usual downhill threat operated out in the mid-range area, forcing the defense to respect her outside jumper.

She hit a couple of shots with a foot on the line, and also stepped in to the true mid-range and nailed several jumpers on her way to a team-high 14 points.

Given her seniority and relationship with White, she’s been given the green light as a coach on the floor.

“When Korveanna’s hot she’s hot. There’s no switching it [off],” White said. “She knocked ‘em down. She’s confident, her confidence has grown from her sophomore year to her senior year…I just let her go. Her IQ, she’s become a me on the court so I just let her go. I trust her.”

UP NEXT

Warner Robins will travel to Peach County for a non-region contest on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 3 p.m.