Warner Robins basketball silences Northside crowd in Part 1 of Crosstown Showdown; Demonettes continue dominant season with win over Lady Eagles

WARNER ROBINS — Weatherspoon Gymnasium at Warner Robins was at capacity during Saturday night’s Crosstown Showdown with the parking lot full of cars, stands full of people and the roar of the crowd that could be heard from outside the gym.

That being said, the Warner Robins Demons (9-4) took care of business 77-31 to continue their dominance in their rivalry against the Northside Eagles (8-8).

Here are three observations:

PHOTOS: See more shots from Saturday’s Crosstown Showdown.

The return of Trey Bradley

Senior guard Trey Bradley hasn’t played since Dec. 21 against St. Anne-Pacelli. That’s a three-game and a 22-day absence from official basketball.

But, despite his injuries, he made sure he was going to play against Northside in his senior year.

Warner Robins coach Jamaal Garman said he put no pressure on Bradley to return early, but that he showed up to practice on Wednesday after the win against Wayne County, dressed out, and practiced hard.

“He was dressed out in practice, he didn’t say nothing to me, I didn’t say nothing to him. He practice like a normal practice,” Garman said. “Came back Thursday, practiced again, I said, ‘Oh, he might be ready then.’”

“He did it on his own, no pressure from me. I’m definitely not going to force anybody to come back from an injury like that. He just put in the work for himself, took care of himself outside the court and we saw the results today.”

Bradley had 11 points and was crucial coming off of the bench as Gabe Jacobs struggled to get going.

Silencing the visitors

It was hard to tell it was a Demons home game early in Saturday’s contest.

Northside hit a couple of long shots, the crowd roaring louder with each one as they took a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

From there the Demons uncorked a 10-0 run to lead 13-10 going into the second where they went on a 13-0 run in a 26-6 quarter to take a commanding 39-16 lead at halftime.

The crowd was almost entirely taken out of the game at that point, but Garman predicted this when talking to his team before the game.

“I had already prepared the guys for that moment. I had already told them, man, listen, [Northside is] going to come out, they’re going to hit a 3-pointer, their crowd is going to go crazy, it’s going to be amped up, it’s going to be loud in here” Garman said. “Then all of a sudden it’s going to turn into a basketball game, and once it turns into a basketball game now you’re in control. Their crowd will be sitting on their hands, all of a sudden start scrolling on their phones paying attention to other things. I was proud of them for weathering the storm right there in the first quarter. Real good job.”

Popping the seal

Freshman Kam Schmitz came in on Tuesday against Wayne County and just could not get a shot to fall.

He came in again in the fourth quarter against Northside, where he scored 13 of the Demons’ 19 points.

His first points came at the free-throw line, finally putting him on the board, and then he hit a 3-pointer. That’s usually where it stops, but he just kept hitting shots as the clock ticked down.

He hit another 3-pointer, then got a layup to go before capping his night with another triple for a total of three.

Schmitz has a long way to go before he’s regularly contributing on the varsity squad, but he’s had some good moments early.

“He’s just trusting the process,” Garman said. “He understands right now that he’s not going to get a whole lot of minutes, so when I do get those minutes I gotta be ready to play and be ready to produce because coaches expect me to produce. He just took advantage of the moment, man. Perfect moment for him to show me that he belongs on this team.”

Demonettes 66, Lady Eagles 31

A rivalry game made no difference for the Warner Robins Demonettes (16-0) as they won their 16th straight game in dominant fashion over the Northside Lady Eagles (7-9) in the first part of this year’s Crosstown Showdown.

Here are three observations from another big win for the Demonettes:

Taking care of business, rivalry or not

Rivalry games are dangerous because anything can happen regardless of records when the crowd is buzzing and bragging rights are on the line, but the Demonettes got out of the danger zone pretty quickly in Saturday’s win.

If a 20-3 lead at the end of the first quarter wasn’t enough, Warner Robins finished the second on a 22-0 run to take a 48-10 lead at halftime — more than doubling their advantage.

This isn’t something new from Warner Robins, they’ve run opponents out of games by halftime before, and that’s because of a motto they have according to Warner Robins coach Rebecca White.

“Take care of business. That’s been our motto all season long,” White said. “Come out, take care of business don’t take anybody lightly. Everybody’s after us.”

Pressure felt for 92 feet

The Demonettes make their living putting crushing defensive pressure on opposing teams, and Northside was no exception.

Warner Robins came out early with a full court press and forced turnovers consistently, especially during their 22-0 run in the second quarter.

The Lady Eagles did stay with the Demonettes in some fast breaks, so not everything was free, but they struggled to even cross the half court line late in the first half.

Warner Robins used double teams and took their steals all the way to the cup as they racked up points in transition.

Trinitee Thomas had her hand in many of those possessions, which allowed her to reach 35 points on the day. More than half of her team’s points, and more than Northside had as a team.

“What’s big about her is willingness to give it up. She could’ve had 40, she could’ve had 45 points,” White said. “But she’s giving it up and it’s hard to find ball players like that, that humble about themselves. She don’t care about scoring she care about giving it up to her teammates.”

Protecting the winning streak

Small winning streaks like three or four games aren’t all that uncommon. Weak opponents or a home stand can result in that, but when you start getting to eight, nine and even into the double digits it becomes more difficult.

When it reaches those heights, you’ve got a target on your back. Every team you play wants to be the one to end the streak.

The Demonettes have had a double-digit winning streak for weeks now, and yet they keep on winning. Through the close games (and the not-so close ones) they have always found a way to win thus far and that goes back to their motto.

“It’s all about taking care of business and coming in to practice every day with a 1-0 mentality,” White said. “Everybody’s after you, your record means nothing. Nobody cares about the zero, they’re trying to get the one.”

UP NEXT

Warner Robins will host Perry on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m.

Northside will travel to Peach County on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 6 p.m.