Lady Glads send message

By Tyler Estep
sports@onlineathens.com

DANIELSVILLE - After Clarke Central got the best of Madison County Friday night, guard Aja Sorrells had a message for her rivals from Danielsville.

The Lady Gladiators had a chance to put themselves back atop the Region 8-AAAA North standings and in the driver's seat for the top seed in the upcoming region tournament, and they knew they were going to do it.

"It feels real good," Sorrells said. "They were talking junk in the paper, so we had to prove them wrong. I guess that 'L' stands for 'lesson learned' for them."

Regardless of the semantics, Clarke Central (15-4, 7-1) did what it intended to, claiming a 45-33 win in the matchup between the subregion juggernauts.

After the Lady Gladiators dropped the Lady Raiders(18-6, 7-2) in overtime on Jan. 19 in Athens, the Lady Raiders said they couldn't wait to get another crack at Clarke Central , this time on their home court.

Following Clarke Central 's Tuesday loss to Winder-Barrow (its first in the subregion), Madison County 's Lauren Smith said the Lady Raiders would be the next to give the Lady Glads that "L."

But the Lady Gladiators had other plans.

"We may see them again in the (region) tournament," said Clarke Central coach Carla Johnson. "But it has become a pretty good rivalry. We've battled every time we've been on the court with each other, and tonight was no exception."

The first three quarters were close, with the Lady Gladiators taking a 27-24 lead into the final eight minutes. That's when Clarke Central turned up the defensive heat, making the Lady Raiders uncomfortable and going on a 7-0 run en route to outscoring Madison County 18-9 in the final period.

"We had some good looks, we just did not hit shots," said Madison County coach Dan Lampe. "We shot under 25 percent for the whole game. You've got to give credit where it's due -- their defense turned it up. But when we did get set offensively, you've got to hit shots."

After the Lady Raiders started the game on a 5-0 run, Clarke Central took the lead in the final minutes of the quarter, and held the advantage from that point on.But the Lady Gladiators never led by more than a possession at the end of any period, setting the stage for the deciding fourth quarter.

Madison County guard Molly Glaze led all scorers with 11 points. But it was tight defense late, coupled with 10 points apiece from Sorrells and Daneidra Watkins that won the game for the Lady Gladiators, giving them the edge for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming region tournament.

Clarke Central has two games left, at Habersham Central today and Apalachee Tuesday. Madison County (18-6, 7-2) has just one, at Habersham Central on Tuesday.

"We couldn't lay off of them, they're obviously a pretty good team," Sorrells said. "We had to keep pushing it down their throats."

Sorrells said that the rivalry with Madison County has supplanted the Lady Gladiators' one with Cedar Shoals , and with good reason. These two teams have been the subregion's best for three years running.

And with the Lady Raiders sweeping all three games between them last season and a potential postseason matchup on the horizon, not to mention a little mutual trash talk, the rivalry isn't getting any weaker.

"I'm hoping we meet them again," Lampe said. "Not so they can sweep, obviously, but so that we can get a little taste of victory against them this year ... It's not over yet."