The Georgetown Lady G-Men squared off against the Batavia Lady Bulldogs last week looking to rebound after a close loss to the Blanchester Lady Wildcats earlier in the week.

Kennedy Underwood certainly helped the team’s cause, erupting for 17 points on six-of-eight shooting. She helped her team jump out in front in the first half, as the Lady G-Men scored 35 points in the first 16 minutes of game time. Batavia, on the other hand, would score just 18 points, as the Georgetown defense was stout throughout the first half.

The Lady G-Men suffered an offensive outage in the second half, but the game was already well at hand. The team scored just 17 points in the final half of play, but they limited the Lady Bulldogs to 17 as well en route to a 52-35 home victory.

Underwood was not the only Lady G-Men player to have a solid night offensively. Senior Rachel Gibbons also scored 17 points, hitting seven of her 10 shot attempts. She also pulled down 11 rebounds. Teammate Taylor McKinney notched a double-double as well, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 boards. Bayley Johnson did not score a point, but her five assists helped her teammates crack the scoring column.

Head coach Bernie Cropper said Johnson wasn’t needed to score during the game, as her teammates were able to pick up the slack.

“We didn’t need her to [score] tonight, she was a facilitator for everybody else,” Cropper said.

Cropper also praised McKinney’s effort against the Lady Bulldogs, calling it one of her best games of the season.\

“That’s the best game she’s played for us,” Cropper said. “She’s such a hard worker. She was aggressive and played with so much confidence. She went strong, her teammates found her. I have to give a lot of credit to Bayley Johnson, she did a great job passing the ball.”

It was a good win for the Lady G-Men, as it is important to pick up conference victories when you get the chance. Cropper was all praise for the opponent, but he was also happy with how his team performed in the game.

“They’re a very athletic and quick,” Cropper said. “They’re a good team. I’m happy with our effort tonight. We were really solid defensively. I liked the way we rebounded the ball most of the time. Offensively, we executed much better than we have been. It was a step forward, we played a nice ballgame tonight.”

The team’s next game came against the New Richmond Lady Lions, who had just dropped a road match to the Ripley Lady Jays last weekend.

It was a close game, but Georgetown’s shooting was off and the team fell to the Lady Lions 35-32. Johnson scored 13 points for the Lady G-Men, but no other Georgetown player finished in double-digits.

Underwood had six points and Gibbons added five. McKinney chipped in four for the Lady G-Men, who shot less than 30 percent as a team in the game.

Georgetown now prepares to face the Fayetteville Lady Rockets in the Brown County Holiday Tournament Tuesday, Dec. 29. The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at Western Brown High School.

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By Garth Shanklin

gshanklin@civitasmedia.com

Reach Garth Shanklin at 937-378-6161 or follow him on Twitter @GNDShanklin.