The Pickens Dragons and Dragonettes took on the Dalton Catamounts and Lady Catamounts on Tuesday night with mixed results, as the Nettes fought hard and came out with a two-point win and the Dragons struggled through a twenty-one point defeat.
The first game of the night pitted the Dragonettes against the Lady Catamounts in a rematch of a 62-59 game in Dalton just ten days ago, and this matchup proved to be just as compelling as the one that preceded it.

The Dragonettes came out slow in the first quarter thanks to Dalton’s domination in the paint, resulting in Pickens playing from behind and trailing the Lady Catamounts 11-7 once the quarter was over.

The second quarter saw the Dragonettes pick up the pace as far as moving the ball was concerned, which helped the team get better looks and twenty-one points. The twenty-one one the scoreboard gave the Nettes a slim 28-27 lead at halftime.

Pickens continued to play hard in the third period of play, outscoring Dalton 12-6 to increase their lead to 40-33 going into the final quarter.

Unwilling to just step aside and allow the Dragonettes to win, the Lady Catamounts got it going in the fourth, outscoring the Nettes 7-2 to start the quarter to put the score at 42-40 with 2:54 left.

The Catamounts continued to pressure Pickens as the time ticked down, and with forty-one seconds left they took a 46-45 lead. However, the Dragonettes were prepared to close the gap, and a foul by the Lady Catatmounts resulted in Kadie Mullinax stepping to the line and draining two shots to give Pickens a 47-46 lead.

Dalton then proceeded to go down the court and attempt to find an open look to re-gain the lead, but a block by Sarah Smith gave the Nettes the ball back. Mullinax was fouled again with nine seconds left, and the addition of one point on two foul shots increased the Dragonettes’ lead to 48-46.

The Lady Catamounts had a chance to answer, but an inbound play with four seconds left was followed by a shot that was no good, handing the Nettes a nice 48-46 victory.

Danielle Goss had an outstanding game, leading the team in scoring and rebounding with sixteen points and thirteen rebounds, respectively.

Sarah Smith did her part down low for the Dragonettes, finishing the game with six points and seven rebounds in the win.

Haley Kalson and Kadie Mullinax also did their part in the victory, as Kalson had eight points, four rebounds, and three assists and Mullinax finished with ten points, two rebounds, and three assists as well.

Following the conclusion of the girls’ game was the matchup between the Dragons and the Catamounts in a contest that unfortunately would not be very pleasant for the home team.

The Dragons fought hard in the opening quarter, but the Catamounts’ advantages in rebounding left Pickens down 20-7 at the end of the first.

Pickens was able to even things up a bit in the second quarter, putting up fourteen points in the period, but Dalton’s sixteen points left the Dragons in an uncomfortable 36-20 hole.

The third quarter resembled the second for the Dragons, as the team was able to work hard with finding good looks to score nineteen points. Unfortunately, the Catamounts put up twenty-one points of their own, leaving Pickens down 57-40.

Dalton did not let off the gas in the fourth, adding twenty-four points to their side of the scoreboard. While Pickens refused to just step aside and throw in the towel, the team’s twenty points were not enough to put a dent in Dalton’s lead, resulting in the Catamounts winning the game by the final score of 81-60.

Tyjai Howell put up a valiant effort for the Dragons, scoring twenty-three points and finishing the game with eleven rebounds in the loss.

Following Howell in scoring was Shannon Brooks, who had nine points, and Ryan Curry, who had eight points. Brooks and Curry combined for five assists in the contest.

The Dragons and Dragonettes will be back in action on Friday night when they take on St. Pius X. The Dragonettes will face off with the Lady Lions at 7:00 with the boys’ game following its conclusion.