Turnover-tainted night dooms Lady Warhawks against Northside

WARNER ROBINS — A constant string of turnovers was too much for Veterans (5-12, 1-3 Region 2-5A) to overcome in their trip to the Eagles’ Nest on Tuesday night.

Northside (12-6, 3-2 Region) has rightfully garnered a reputation for their defense and ability to take the ball away, evident in a 51-25 final.

They pressured the Lady Warhawks the length of the court and were able to snag the ball through double teams or timely interruptions in the passing lanes.

In the half court the Lady Eagles’ rotations made driving or swinging the ball to get open shots difficult or fruitless, leading to a 17-6 deficit for Veterans after the first quarter.

Most of those 17 came from the fast break and the charity stripe; Northside drew fouls consistently if they couldn’t get behind the defense.

As the second begun the turnovers continued for the Lady ‘Hawks, and not all of them were forced. Errant passes attempting to bypass the Lady Eagles’ press sailed out of bounds several times.

It was a difficult night against a tough defense for Tracy Fendley’s Lady ‘Hawks.

“I thought [Northside] played really good defense. High intensity. They rotated well and played with a lot of heart, it felt like,” Fendley said. “We had several girls in foul trouble. So we had girls handling the ball that don’t typically handle the ball for us, so we struggled a bit there.”

Fendley tried to create spacing on the floor and move the ball offensively, but with the pressure and inexperienced ball handlers it didn’t often result in a score.

Veterans was held to single digits in every quarter; Their highest total in one period was nine in the second to force a 26-15 halftime score.

It didn’t help that when Veterans did get an open shot, they had a hard time hitting them.

In the second quarter they managed to get an open look by swinging the ball and then making a pass to the opposite corner, but if not for Camila Vicioso’s offensive rebound and put back they would have come away empty.

“We just did not hit many shots. It was not a good shooting night for us,” Fendley said.

UP NEXT

Veterans will continue their five-game road trip on Friday, Jan. 16 at Thomas County Central at 6 p.m.

“We play Thomas County on Friday, and they’re a different team, not the same they were last year. So we got to go to practice and figure it all out,” Fendley said.

Northside’s next matchup is Saturday, Jan. 17 at home against Houston County at 4 p.m.