Lady Eagles lose home test against Valdosta in Holiday Hoops Classic

WARNER ROBINS — The Valdosta Lady Wildcats (10-1) left Northside (8-2) with their 10th win after outscoring the Lady Eagles 23-5 in the fourth to complete the comeback in a 57-44 final at the Forrest B. Johnson & Associates Holiday Hoops Classic.

Northside’s first-half effort was outstanding, holding Valdosta to seven points in each of the first and second quarters. They played with energy and intensity knowing how big of a test the Lady ‘Cats were. But a 23-14 halftime lead wasn’t enough as the energy dipped and effort waned in the final two quarters.

“We played really hard in the first half, and then our energy changed in the second half,” Lady Eagles head coach ChoRhonda Gwaltney-Harris said. “We didn’t play as hard in the second half.”

Turnovers were a key part of the equation. Down six with a few minutes to go in the fourth turnovers prevented Northside from making any kind of effort to close the gap.

“We’re a turnover waiting to happen. We turned it over in the first half, but we played so hard they [cancelled each other out],” Gwaltney-Harris said. “So we didn’t play as hard in the second half, and then when you turned the ball over and you’re not getting turnovers, then you got an issue. Plus [Valdosta] is a good team.”

According to Gwaltney-Harris, confidence is one of the biggest contributors to that issue.

“We have to be more confident with the basketball,” she said. “I mean that’s something we’ve been working on. I thought we were a little bit different, but it didn’t show up today. We have to be able to be consistent and confident with the basketball while we’re handling it to make better decisions. We’ll figure something out, but we weren’t confident at the end of the game taking care of the basketball.”

UP NEXT

The Lady Eagles still have a couple of contests left in 2025, but they’ll get to those after a brief Holiday break.

“We’re gonna take a break and then we’ll get back in here on the 27th, and then we’ll play the 29th and the 30th. And then we’ll get rolling in region time,” Gwaltney-Harris said. “So we’re gonna let them go home, spend some times with their families and hopefully they do something and don’t come back here out of shape.”

Northside will travel to Perry on Monday, Dec. 29 at 5 p.m.

Valdosta will play Bainbridge at Thomasville High School on Friday, Dec. 26 at 1 p.m.