Demonettes survive to win 10th straight 42-38 against Veterans

KATHLEEN — The Warner Robins Demonettes (10-0) won their tenth straight game this season in a tense 42-38 final against Veterans (4-7) at The Hangar on Wednesday.

The contest snapped the Lady Warhawks’ three-game winning streak that they started at last week’s Bear Brawl at Houston County High School, a promising sign as the non-region schedule nears its end.

It was a close one. In fact it was the second-smallest margin of victory for Warner Robins this season. First place is a two-point win over Tift County.

It easily could have gone either way with the Demonettes having an off night at the basket and Veterans missing a good handful of open threes. But according to Warner Robins head coach Rebecca Ivory energy and defense is what got them over the hump.

“They battled. They turned it on when they had to. Veterans played a good game,” Ivory said. “We had our dead moments [but] we found a way to fight back, to get over the hump.”

That doesn’t mean it was a complete victory in their eyes.

“The locker room is quiet right now. I like that it’s quiet. They know it’s a win, but to them it’s a loss,” Ivory said.

The Demonettes’ full court pressure slowed down the Lady ‘Hawks’ offense, eliminating fast break opportunities and taking away full possessions via turnovers.

Halfway through the first Warner Robins led 7-3 but soon a string of cuts and drives to the basket netted the Demonettes a 15-7 advantage by the end of the first. That reached double digits by the late second quarter, though Veterans did narrow it to nine by halftime.

Turnovers aside the Lady ‘Hawks dealt with the Warner Robins defense just fine in the half court. They stretched the 2-3 zone and created three-point shots with consistency, but were unable to connect on any until Francesca Jones hit their first with 2:36 left in the first half. That cut the deficit to 10.

The Demonettes only scored five points in the third quarter as Veterans crept back into the game. A four-point lead was erased as Kiersten Rogers hit her second of two three-pointers to tie the game at 36 with 3:41 left to play.

Warner Robins couldn’t buy a shot anywhere on the floor. Their only beacon of light on a stormy offensive night was senior Janelle Turner who never let up and was the only Demonette in double figures with 14 points.

“That’s Janelle Turner. If I asked her to run through that brick wall she’s going to run through that brick wall,” Ivory said.

Rogers scored Veterans’ last two points at the free throw line with 1:18 left, and from there Kennedy Bradshaw drained a pair of her own to make it a four-point game with 15 seconds left.

UP NEXT

The Demonettes will take a trip down to Leesburg for the Lee County Girl Power Classic on Friday, Dec. 19 through Saturday, Dec. 20.

Veterans will head the other way to Savannah to play in the Savannah Holiday Classic at Groves High School on Friday, Dec. 19 through Saturday, Dec. 20.