Coach Thomas records 200th win as Nettes defeat Lady Cats
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports December 7, 2022
Jasper, Ga — On Tuesday, December 6th, 7-AAA region play began. The 515 rivalry made its way to the court. Back on November 22nd, the Nettes and Lady Cats faced each other in the ETC Tip-Off Tournament. On that night, the Nettes came away with a 67-39 victory. This go around, would be a little bit more important as it was a region game. While the Nettes may not have had the best of shooting nights, they were able to come away with a 50-29 win over the Lady Cats.
Emmie Moore got the scoring started for the Nettes in the first quarter as she hit a 3 pointer to make it 3-0. Caroline Mullins, Brylee Deering, Ellison Steinhauer, and Emery Bryant all scored for the Nettes in the first quarter. The Defense for Pickens came up big early on as they held the Lady Cats scoreless in the opening quarter to give the Nettes an 11-0 lead going to the second.
Nettes on offense early in the first quarter
The Lady Cats got on the board first in the second quarter thanks to a three pointer by Charley Poteet. The Nettes, countered with an 8-0 run that included a three pointer by Bella Hopkins, and a 5-0 self run by Steinhauer to make it 19-3 Pickens. Lucy Ray put an end to the Nettes run with a bucket to make it 19-5. Moore got her second three pointer of the game to make it 22-5. Madison Bradshaw answered with a bucket to make it 22-7. Deering got her second field goal of the game as she hit a three to make it 25-7. Amayah Jones got her first bucket of the game to make it 25-9. After battling foul trouble for most of the first half picking up two quick ones in the first quarter, Mullins split a pair of free throws to make it 26-9. Hopkins connected on her second three pointer to make it 29-9 Nettes at the break.
Lady Cats with the basketball
To begin the second half, Steinhauer went on another personal 5-0 run as she hit a three pointer and a pair of free throws to make it 34-9 Nettes. After a bucket by Jones that ended the run, Mullins went on a 5-0 run of her own as she made two shots and a free throw to make it 39-11. Ray and Steinhauer would then trade buckets as Pickens led, 41-15. Aliza Chastain ended the third quarter with a make for the Lady Cats as Pickens led 41-17 going to the fourth quarter.
Nettes running a play in the third quarter
Chastain, who ended the third quarter with a bucket, began the fourth quarter with a bucket as well to make it 41-19. Mullins, then got a bucket and the foul. Mullins completed the three point play and made it 44-19. Jones then went on a personal 4-0 run to make it 44-23. Steinhauer ended the run with a three pointer. Sophia Riblet responded with a bucket to make it 47-25. After a bucket by Steinhauer and a free throw by Deering, the Nettes led 50-25. The Lady Cats got on a 4-0 run to close the game. Pickens, picks up the win, 50-29.
Lady Cats Leading Scorers:
Amayah Jones: 8 points
Lucy Ray: 8 points
Aliza Chastain: 4 points
Charley Pateet: 3 points
Nettes Leading Scorers:
Ellison Steinhauer: 19 points
Caroline Mullins: 11 points
Brylee Deering: 6 points
Bella Hopkins: 6 points
Emmie Moore: 6 points
Emery Bryant: 2 points
7-AAA Girls Region Standings:
Pickens: 6-0 (1-0)
Wesleyan: 5-0 (1-0)
Dawson: 4-2 (1-0)
White County: 7-1 (0-0)
Lumpkin County: 5-1 (0-1)
West Hall: 2-6 (0-1)
Gilmer: 1-6 (0-1)
With the win, head coach Brandon Thomas picks up win number 200 of his career. Coach Thomas and the Nettes will be back on their home floor on Friday as they host an undefeated Sonoraville Lady Phoenix team. Both clubs will come into the game with similar 6-0 records. Tip off is set for 7 pm.
Nettes open state tournament with big first round win
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports February 23, 2022
Jasper, Ga — It was state tournament time once again in Jasper as the Pickens Dragonettes welcomed the Riverdale Lady Raiders to the Dragons Den for the first round of the GHSA 4A Girls State Basketball Tournament. After a tough loss to Northwest Whitfield in the region championship, the Nettes came into the game as the #2 seed. The Riverdale Lady Raiders, came into the game as the #3 seed out of region 5. Using a big time team effort, the Nettes came away with an 83-44 win.
In the first quarter, the Nettes got off to a quick start as Madison Powell opened the scoring with a three pointer. Caroline Mullins then made a bucket and a free throw to make it 6-0 Pickens early. After a three by the Lady Raiders, the Nettes went on an 8-0 run as Caroline Mullins hit a pair of free throws, Emma Gleason made a layup, Caroline Mullins, Emmie Moore, and Amanda Nelson hit free throws to make it 14-3. Riverdale ended the run with a bucket and a free throw to make it 14-6. Then it was time for the Mullins sisters to takeover. After a three by older sister Carmyn, younger sister Caroline made a layup. Carmyn then followed it up with 4 consecutive free throws to make it 23-6 Nettes going to the second.
Nettes allowed just 6 first quarter points
The Lady Raiders got things going in the second quarter with a bucket to make it 23-8. Moore answered for Pickens with a three pointer making it 26-8. After a bucket by Riverdale, the Nettes went on an 8-0 run as Nelson split a pair of free throws, Carmyn Mullins made a layup and followed that up with a three pointer, then Gleason made a layup to make it 34-10. The two teams then traded buckets to end the first half as Pickens held a 40-15 advantage at the break.
Nettes on offense in the 2nd quarter
The third quarter began with a steal by the Nettes and a nice finish at the basket by Bella Hopkins to make it 42-15. After a three by the Lady Raiders, Nelson and Caroline Mullins responded with back to back three pointers to make it 48-18. The two teams then traded buckets for a couple minutes as the Nettes led it 54-28. Pickens then went on a 5-0 run getting a layup by Emery Bryant, a free throw make by Carmyn Mullins, and a bucket by Caroline Mullins to make it 59-28. The two teams traded and-1 opportunities as we’d head to the fourth with Pickens leading Riverdale, 62-31.
Nettes running an in-bounds play
Moore opened the shortened fourth quarter with a three pointer to make it 65-31. After a free throw make by the Lady Raiders, Gleason made a layup to make it 67-32. Riverdale then went on a 4-0 run to make it 67-36. Jazmine Chastain made a layup after a nice offensive rebound and Bryant hit a pair of free throws to stretch the lead out to 71-36. The Lady Raiders came back down and made a layup to make it 71-38. The Nettes came back down the floor and Emery Steinhauer made a wide open three to make it 74-38. Riverdale responded with back to back three pointers to make it 74-44. Pickens ended the game on a 9-0 run as Bryant scored 4 points, Ashaela Buchanan scored 3 points, and Adrienne Plumley scored two points during the run. Your final score from Jasper, Nettes 83 Riverdale 44.
Scoring For The Nettes:
Caroline Mullins: 19 points
Carmyn Mullins: 16 points
Emery Bryant: 10 points
Emmie Moore: 7 points
Amanda Nelson: 7 points
Emma Gleason: 6 points
Madison Powell: 6 points
Ashaela Buchanan: 3 points
Emery Steinhauer: 3 points
Bella Hopkins: 2 points
Adrienne Plumley: 2 points
With the win, the Nettes advance to the Sweet 16. They will have a quick turnaround as they will head down to Albany to take on the Dougherty Lady Trojans on Friday, February 25th. Dougherty, is the #1 seed out of region 1. They had a bye to the Sweet 16 as region 3 did not have a #4 seed for them to match up against in the first round. The Lady Trojans are 17-7 on the season. Their last game was on February 15th in the region 1 championship game against Bainbridge. Tip off for the Nettes and Lady Trojans is set for 6 pm.
Nettes head into region tournament on 20-game win streak
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports February 11, 2022
Jasper, Ga — On Thursday, February 10th, the Pickens Dragonettes took on the Cedartown Lady Bulldogs in what was not only the final region 7-AAAA game, and the final game of the regular season. This game, was supposed to take place a couple of weeks ago, but weather forced a postponement and it was moved to February 10th. These two teams first met on December 7th with the Nettes coming away with a 62-31 win at Cedartown. Pickens, continued it’s winning ways as they came away with a 73-32 victory in the regular season finale.
In the first quarter, Senior Amanda Nelson got things going for the Nettes as she made a nice move to the basket for the layup. After a steal on the other end, Pickens extended their lead to 4-0 after Sophomore Caroline Mullins found older sister, Senior Carmyn Mullins alone under the basket for the layup. Cedartown would then call an early timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Lady Bulldogs got on the board with a three pointer to make it 4-3. Caroline Mullins then found Junior Emma Gleason leading the way on a fast break for the layup to make it 6-3. After a miss by Cedartown, Junior Madison Powell collected the rebound, passed it to Caroline Mullins, and she found Gleason again leading the fast break down the floor for another layup to make it 8-3.
After the Lady Bulldogs took another timeout, they were able to connect on an open layup to make it 8-5. Caroline Mullins was able to come away with a steal and took it all the way for the score to make it 10-5. Caroline Mullins then rebounded a missed shot by Cedartown and once again found an open Gleason for the layup to make it 12-5. The Lady Bulldogs then made a free throw line jumper to make it 12-7. Good ball movement by the Nettes led to Nelson finding an open Carmyn Mullins for the layup to make it 14-7. After several tries, Cedartown got a three pointer to go to make it 14-10. Pickens quickly answered as a cutting Freshman Brylee Deering found an open Nelson for the three to make it 17-10. Just as time was expiring in the first quarter, the Lady Bulldogs got a three pointer to fall to make it 17-13.
Nettes on offense in the first
The Nettes started off the second quarter with a score as Caroline Mullins found Gleason underneath the basket for the layup to make it 19-13. After a turnover by Cedartown, Pickens turned it into points as Nelson got it to Caroline Mullins and she made a nice fad away move for the score to make it 21-13. The Lady Bulldogs were able to break the 4-0 run with a short jumper to make it 21-15. After that, it was all Nettes. Pickens went on a 16-0 run for the remainder of the first half to take a 37-15 lead into the break.
The Nettes allowed just two 2nd quarter points
The third quarter started just like the first quarter with Nelson making an open layup to make it 39-15. Carmyn Mullins then was able to drive to the basket, make the layup, and get the foul. She completed the and-1 chance to make it 42-15. After a steal by Powell, she found an open Carmyn Mullins under the basket as the Nettes lead grew to 44-15. Caroline Mullins got a steal of her own and made the layup to make it 46-15. Another steal by Caroline Mullins led to a 2 on 1 fast break and Mullins dished it to Nelson with a nice behind the back pass for the layup to make it 48-15. Cedartown was able to get on the board with a pair of free throws to make it 48-17.
On the next possession for Pickens, Sophomore Bella Hopkins found Nelson open in the corner for the three to make it 51-17. After a steal by Freshman Emmie Moore, Hopkins found a streaking Powell for the layup to make it 53-17. The Lady Bulldogs would then make another pair of free throws to make it 53-19. There was a Freshman to Freshman connection as Deering found Moore, who drove to the basket and hit a floater to make it 55-19. Cedartown answered with a nice turnaround move for the layup to make it 55-21. Another steal by Moore led to a bucket on the other end as Caroline Mullins laid it in to make it 57-21. The scoring in the third continued for the Nettes as Sophomore Emery Bryant found Moore for the layup to make it 59-21. After a steal by Powell, she found Deering, who found an open Moore for the three to make it 62-21 going to the fourth.
Nettes with the ball in the third quarter
The shortened fourth quarter saw Pickens get the first points as Deering found Powell for the three to make it 65-21. Cedartown got their first points of the fourth after a drive to the basket resulted in a layup to make it 65-23. The Lady Bulldogs followed that up with a pair of free throws to make it 65-25. Cedartown again got a layup as they were able to grab a tipped pass to make it 65-27. The Nettes were able to end the Lady Bulldog run after Junior Adrienne Plumley found Bryant for the layup and the foul. Cedartown came back on the other end to hit a three pointer to make it 67-30. After an offensive rebound by Bryant, good ball movement led to Plumley finding Bryant again for the layup to make it 69-30. The Lady Bulldogs were able to hit another pair of free throws to make it 69-32. After a steal, Sophomore Emery Steinhauer took it all the way for the score to make it 71-32. After another steal by the Nettes, Steinhauer found a wide open Plumley under the basket for the layup with just seconds left in the game as Pickens took this one, 73-32.
Leading Scorers For The Nettes:
Caroline Mullins: 16 points
Amanda Nelson: 12 points
Carmyn Mullins: 11 points
Emma Gleason: 10 points
Emmie Moore: 9 points
Madison Powell: 7 points
Emery Bryant: 4 points
Emery Steinhauer: 2 points
Adrienne Plumley: 2 points
7-AAAA Girls Region Standings:
Pickens: 22-2 (12-0) #1 seed in region tournament
Heritage: 16-7 (9-3) #2 or #3 seed in region tournament
Northwest Whitfield: 16-9 (9-3) #2 or #3 seed in region tournament
Central-Carroll: 10-14 (6-6) #4 seed in region tournament
Cedartown: 4-16 (3-9) #5 seed in region tournament
Ridgeland: 5-19 (2-10) #6 seed in region tournament
Southeast Whitfield: 1-23 (1-10) #7 seed in region tournament
With the win, Nettes head coach Brandon Thomas collected his 101st win since taking over. That moves him to 2nd all time in Nettes coaching wins. Only behind the man that the court is named after at Pickens High School, Roy Cowart. The 2021-22 season is Coach Thomas’ 5th as Nettes head coach. The Nettes, will await their next opponent as they prepare for their 7-AAAA Region Tournament Semifinal opponent on Thursday. While the opponent is to be determined, the game, and all of the tournament games will be at Northwest Whitfield.