Basketball: Lady Knights punch ticket to state tournament with win

Bethlehem Christian Academy’s girls basketball team took care of business in an opening-round game of the GISA Region 4-AAA tournament, even though it may have taken a little longer than initially expected.
The Lady Knights, who assured themselves a spot in the upcoming state tournament, used a 21-point performance by Jadyn Goddard to defeat visiting Loganville Christian Academy 55-39. Stella Byrd and Olivia Morgan finished with 12 points and 11 points respectively in the seniors’ final game on their home court.
“Loganville Christian made us work for it in the first half,” said BCA coach Julie Cavoretto. “They were able to take some good attempts from the floor. We were working on a few things defensively and we had some strong efforts on both ends of the court.”
Goddard, a freshman, had four 3-pointers and was also 7-of-8 from the foul line.
“We also had a great effort from Olivia and Stella who are our two seniors,” Cavoretto said. “We are excited about moving on in the region tournament and of qualifying for state.”
The first half of Tuesday’s contest was a tale of runs by both teams. LCA actually jumped out to a 5-0 lead before BCA (12-13) answered with a 9-0 run, capped by a layup from Goddard.
A 6-0 run by the Lady Lions pulled them to within 22-19 with just under a minute to play in the first half. BCA would take a 24-21 lead into the break.
Things began to turn in the Lady Knights’ favor in the second half. BCA used a quick 8-0 run to build an 11-point lead. A layup by Rebekah Doolittle increased the advantage to 15 points.
“We had a great defensive effort,” Cavoretto said. “We were able to apply a lot of pressure causing turnovers. That is a goal of ours to force turnovers and not just slap at the basketball. The game was close in the first half and that actually turned out to be a good thing for us because we came out focused to start the third quarter. We needed to understand we had to be patient on offense.”
Katherine Gano added 6 points for the Lady Knights.
The proverbial David vs. Goliath scenario now awaits BCA as the Lady Knights will face John Milledge Academy in the Lady Trojans’ gym Thursday in a region semifinal contest at 7 p.m. JMA is considered one of the top teams in the state for GISA girls AAA, as well as in the region.
The Lady Knights dropped a 50-21 home contest to JMA last month and then lost 66-14 last Friday.
“We will have to try to limit their outside shooting,” Cavoretto said. “They are a very good team. We will continue to prepare for them (in practice Wednesday) and then go give it our best. It’s what makes tournament basketball fun. You know you are going to face some strong competition. We are viewing it as a challenge.”
Regardless of the outcome of Thursday’s game with JMA, the Lady Knights know their season will continue with a first-round state playoff game Tuesday to be determined.