Chatham girls hold Gretna to eight first-half points in victory

CHATHAM — With Gretna putting additional pressure on Chatham guards Jessica Goolsby and Erin Ricketts, coach Mike Richardson implored his team to take advantage of the open lane and attack the basket.

Marissa Thompson responded with a game-high 16 points, including every Chatham point in the first quarter, as the Cavaliers rolled to a 47-33 victory over Gretna in Dogwood District action Tuesday night.

“Finally, we put everything together — offense and defense,” Thompson said, who added 10 rebounds. “The whole team stepped up tonight. We just needed a win and we wanted it.”

After a slow first few minutes, Thompson took over in the later stages of the first quarter, scoring six of her eight first quarter points in the last two minutes. The senior guard/forward went 8-of-14 from the charity stripe.

After Gretna (6-9, 2-6 Dogwood) found itself in a 22-8 hole coming out of intermission, the Hawks responded in the third quarter, restoring some life with two Ashleigh Meeks 3-pointers, the second of which closed the quarter at 29-18, which was the closest Gretna came for the rest of the game.

“Everybody just kept chipping in, but everybody had a little bit,” Chatham coach Mike Richardson said. “I think that was a key to our success tonight. I told our players before the game, ‘Make an attempt to score.’ We’ve been looking for one or two players all along to carry the load, but we need help from everybody and they stepped up tonight.”

Seven of the eight Chatham (4-11, 2-5 Dogwood) players that stepped foot on the court scored. Victoria Randolph added 10 points and four steals off the bench. Iesha Perry scored six points, grabbed eight rebounds and added four assists.

The fourth quarter was dominated by free throws, as the Hawks tried to stop the clock by sending the Cavaliers to the line 17 times. Chatham converted on seven of those free throws, but Gretna was never really able to gain any momentum to get the contest close.

Despite the loss, Gretna coach Herb Daniel was pleased with his team’s hustle. And on a night when shots needed to fall to get back in the game, it just didn’t go the Hawks’ way.

“Unfortunately, it was not our night for shooting,” Daniel said. “We were terrible from the field tonight in terms of shooting. Our shots just weren’t falling. When that happens, you’re not going to come up with a ‘W.’”

Georgia Davis scored a team-high eight points for the Hawks. Niaya Griffin and Meeks scored six points apiece.