Hendersonville High senior point guard Carleigh Short releases an interior shot as Gallatin senior Rene Hudson defends during second-quarter action. Short scored 22 points in the Lady Commandos’ 53-47 victory on Tuesday evening.
GALLATIN It might have been understandable if the Hendersonville High girls basketball team was a little shell-shocked in the first half of Tuesday evening’s game at Gallatin.
Green Wave senior point guard Rene Hudson lit up the nets for 22 first-half points, but the visiting Lady Commandos were able to erase a 15-point deficit in the third quarter to collect a 53-47 victory at Jerry Vradenburg Gymnasium.
It was each team’s next-to-last District 9-AAA contest.
Hudson hit six 3-pointers, with five coming in the opening half. She finished with a game-high 27 points.
“She hit some major threes that killed us in the beginning,” Hendersonville junior guard Peyton Sheehan – who scored 16 points – said.
Hendersonville (16-8 overall, 9-4 in District 9-AAA) trailed 39-24 with four minutes left in the third quarter before embarking on a 9-2 run to finish the period, cutting the Lady Wave lead to eight (41-33).
The Lady Commandos – who have won seven out of their last eight games – then outscored Gallatin by a 20-6 margin in the final period. Hendersonville’s defense limited Hudson to five points in the second half after she single-handedly outscored the Lady Commandos (22-20) in the first half.
Hendersonville tried guarding Hudson with sophomore Brooke Long to begin the game before Sheehan switched over to defend her late in the first quarter. Hudson scored 16 of Gallatin’s 18 points in the opening period as the Lady Wave ran out to an 11-point advantage (18-7).
Gallatin High senior point guard Rene Hudson dribbles to the basket during first-quarter action. Hudson scored 27 points in the Lady Wave’s 53-47 loss to Hendersonville on Tuesday evening.
Lady Commando senior point guard Carleigh Short took a shot at defending Hudson early in the second quarter.
“We finally figured it out in the second quarter,” Sheehan said. “Carleigh did a really good job on her. I usually leave a step (of space) against someone, but against a shooter, you can’t do that. We figured that out.”
Hendersonville head coach Drew Johnson said that Long and Sheehan’s efforts to guard Hudson helped Short find a way to contain her.
“Carleigh looked at me and said, ‘hey, let me try to guard her,’” Johnson said. “We weren’t going to hold her scoreless, but I think Carleigh did a really good job of changing her game and frustrating her. Carleigh, physically, really doesn’t have the tools that Brooke and Peyton have, but mentally, she’s on top of things. It may have even helped her to watch them guard her and see them fail a little bit in order to help her figure out how to guard (Hudson).”
Hudson hit a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left in the half as Gallatin took a 31-20 lead into halftime.
“Rene was on fire in the first half,” Gallatin first-year head coach Malcolm Montgomery said. “She really gave us a lift and gave us some confidence early, and our team really fed on that.”
Gallatin (5-17, 0-13) had its biggest lead of the game when sophomore forward LaMonica Mintlow scored with 4:05 to play in the third quarter as the Lady Wave held a 39-24 advantage.
Sophomore Morgan Wettengel and junior Makensie Cotter helped Hendersonville produce back-to-back baskets over the final 30 seconds of the period.
“Makensie Cotter, (sophomore) Emma Throneberry and Morgan Wettengel … the minutes they gave us were unbelievable,” Johnson said. “They gave us energy that we didn’t have, and it allowed the other girls that weren’t in the game to see that and think, ‘wait a second, we shouldn’t be making a run without me on the floor.’ It was a gut-check, and those minutes were probably the biggest ones of the game when the subs came off the bench.”
Hendersonville junior guard Peyton Sheehan releases a 3-pointer during second-quarter action as Gallatin High junior Grace Pincock challenges. Sheehan scored 16 points.
Lady Commando starters scored all 20 of Hendersonville’s points in the fourth quarter. Short – who led the Lady Commandos with 22 points – produced 10 points in the final frame, hitting 7 of 8 free throws.
“I told them that I’m more proud of them for this effort,” Montgomery said. “We were in the game, and I think we really learned and tried to grow.”
Tuesday was Gallatin’s senior night, despite the Lady Wave having one more home game on Friday. Hudson, Anastasia Blakemore, Keile Hale, Grayson Pryor and Sierra Slaughter were all recognized.
Hendersonville completed the season sweep of Gallatin, having handed the visiting Lady Wave a 68-34 loss on Jan. 15.
The Lady Commandos host Beech on Friday with a chance to possibly tie for second place in the district if Mt. Juliet loses at Wilson Central.
Gallatin hosts Station Camp on Friday to close the regular season and will face top-seeded Wilson Central when the District 9-AAA Tournament begins at Portland next Wednesday.
Reach Chris Brooks at cbrooks@tennessean.com or at 615-575-7118. Follow him on Twitter @CB_SumnerSports.
HENDERSONVILLE (53) – Carleigh Short 22, Peyton Sheehan 16, Makensie Cotter 7, Brooke Long 4, Joslyn Jarrett 2, Morgan Wettengel 2.
GALLATIN (47) – Rene Hudson 27, Grayson Pryor 10, LaMonica Mintlow 4, Anastasia Blakemore 3, Grace Pincock 3.
Half: 31-20, Gallatin. Three-point goals: Hendersonville 3 (Short 2, Sheehan 1), Gallatin 8 (Hudson 6, Pryor 2). Records: Hendersonville 16-8 overall, 9-4 in District 9-AAA; Gallatin 5-17, 0-13.
