Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

GHS Girls Defeat Lady 'Runners

Gurdon's senior boys found out why Stephens is the top team in class A basketball.

The Roadrunners paid a visit to the land of Go-Devils and went home with a 76-59 win, behind the 33 point effort of Antario Glover.

Gurdon managed to hang with Stephens through the first quarter, with the 'Runners taking an 18-15 lead.

Neither team was able to hit early on, but the Devils did manage to score first, nailing a bucket with 6:56 showing in the opening frame.

The two squads were up and down the court, though neither was in peak form.

Gurdon and Stephens both played hard, but were just out of sync.

In the second quarter the 'Runners began pulling away, while Gurdon's offense went flat.

Stephens jumped out with 15 unanswered points in the second, before Gurdon was able to break its scoring drought.

The Roadrunners hit the boards hard, pulling down rebound after rebound on both sides of the court. The offensive rebounds were converted into points, as were many of the defensive boards.

The Devils were unable to find the bottom of the bucket until the 2:28 mark of the second stanza, while the Roadrunners had moved the score to 33-17 at the time.

Halftime arrived with Gurdon on the short end of a 42-21 score.

The situation didn't improve much in the second half, though the Devils did manage to cut into the Stephens lead somewhat.

The Roadrunners remain undefeated in class 7A Central play and boast a 22-1 mark on the season. Stephens' only loss came at the hands of JA Fair in Little Rock.

Gurdon's leading scorer in the game was RaShaun Hopson, who poured in 18.

Brandon Glover and Stephen Todd each scored 13 for Stephens.

LADY DEVILS 53

LADY 'RUNNERS 51

The senior girls game was a back and forth affair with Gurdon managing to hang on at the end for a 53-51 win.

The game got off to a late start as the officials didn't arrive quite on time.

This didn't appear to affect either team once play began, as Gurdon took the opening tip, but failed to convert.

The Lady Devils then forced Stephens to turn the ball over, but again were unable to find the bottom of the hole.

Gurdon's full-court press bothered Stephens throughout the entire contest, as the Lady 'Runners had fits getting the ball across the time line.

The Lady Devils drew first blood and were up 4-0 with 6:18 showing.

Neither team, though, could shoot worth a flip in the opening period, which ended with Gurdon leading 6-5.

Stephens had a problem other than Gurdon's press traveling. The Lady 'Runners couldn't seem to get coordinated with their feet when trying to beat the press with the officials kept busy on travel calls.

Stephens, though, didn't get credit for frequent flyer miles because of their excessive traveling.

The Lady 'Runners did have a slight advantage in the second period as they were in the bonus situation with 7:15 remaining as the Lady Devils were called for foul after foul.

Gurdon Coach Sandra Hatley put Brandi Escalante in the game with about 7:00 left in the half. Escalante, wearing a heavy brace on her right knee, hit two quick buckets, but had problems getting back on defense.

Neither team showed the ability to put the other away, and halftime arrived with the score deadlocked at 16-16.

The second half opened with Gurdon still pressing on defense, but the squads continued to take ill-advised shots and made poor decisions when handling the ball.

Gurdon managed to take a 21-16 lead with 6:18 showing, before Stephens began to click.

With 4:44 remaining, Gurdon was up 25-18. However, Stephens began cutting into this lead, tying the score at 27-27 with 3:12 left in the quarter.

It was back and forth the rest of the period, which ended with Gurdon holding a minuscule 32-31 lead.

It was anybody's game in the final stanza, play remained about the same with the lead changing hands several times.

Both squads played a physical style of basketball, hacking, chopping and shoving under the boards, with some serious time spent at the line.

In fact, the game came down to free throws as time became a factor late. The difference was Gurdon's ability to convert, while the Lady 'Runners didn't.

With 0:04.6 showing on the clock, Stephens was at the line shooting a pair with the score 53-51. After the first shot was no good, the second was intentionally missed.

But, Gurdon managed to pull down the rebound and preserve the win.