Red Devils take down Commandos
For the fourth year in a row, Gallatin High School has honored those who laid the foundation for success.
Tuesday night’s annual contest to honor Union High School ended with back-to-back wins for the Red Devils and Devilettes as Union defeated Hendersonville High School.
After losing back-to-back games, Union head coach Bobby Luna said his team had two days of quality practice leading into the District 10-4A contest.
“We struggled for the last two games,” he said. “We tried to improve our weaknesses, and I thought tonight we did that.
“I thought ball movement, and execution on offense was much better than it had been the last two games. Defensively, we were a lot better. We guarded the ball better. We were just better. I think our guys were just focused on the task at hand. They did a really good job of making some plays.”
Gallatin grabbed control of the game right from the start, taking a 9-0 lead and then finishing the first quarter on top 21-3.
“We’re fortunate we shot the ball as well as we did. But the difference is we got really good shots because of our ball movement and our player movement,” Luna said. “We hadn’t got good shots the last couple of games because we were not very good offensively.”
Senior guard A.J. Davis led Gallatin to its sizzling start, scoring 12 first quarter points. Davis finished the game with 16 points.
In the second half, De’Costa Ricks scored 11 of his 14 points, including seven straight in the fourth quarter, and Cannon Hall scored nine of his game-high 19, as the Greentt Wave increased its lead to as much as 26 points.
“Our shooting has really improved a lot,” Ricks said. “We have multiple guys comfortable shooting an open shot. We know how to play off each other.”
The night was one of celebrations for Gallatin, as it introduced the 2023 inductees into the school’s Hall of Fame and hosted Union High School Recognition Night to honor Sumner County’s all-black high school before desegregation.
“We’re proud to honor the history of Union High School. We appreciate Hendersonville allowing us to do that,” Luna said. Competing before the Hall of Fame inductees, “we’re glad we were able to play as well as we did in front of them,” he added. “So it’s a great night for Gallatin High School, it’s a great night for Union High School and the recognition for them, it’s a great night of basketball for our boys basketball team. We’re proud of them.”
With the win, Gallatin improved its record to 17-4 and 2-2 in the district. “We started out strong, we’ve got to finish,” Ricks said. “Keep playing hard and working as a team and we’ll get there.”
On Tuesday both teams will return to district play. Gallatin will travel to, while Hendersonville will host Station Camp, which also will carry a 3-1 district record into the game.
Boys Box Score
Gallatin (56) Cannon Hale 19, AJ Davis 16, De’Costa Ricks 14, KJ Knight 3, Kemauri Watkins 2, Amarius Dunn 2.
Hendersonville (41) TJ Kolbe 13, Trevor Reeder 6, Mo Weatherspoon 6, Hudson Gill 5, Grayson DeGraaf 5, Pate Pfaffmann 2, Conner Roberts 2, Carter Brisson 1, Ty Lannom 1.
Devilettes hot hand leads to 20-point win
The Union Devilettes basketball team started Friday’s game against district rival Hendersonville Commandos with a hot hand, hitting their first seven shots to build a 17-6 lead. They never looked back on their way to a 62-42 win in the District 10-4A matchup.
“All of those girls have bought into our defenses,” Gallatin head coach Greta Parker said of her team. “We have many different kinds, but we stuck with our diamond tonight, and they didn’t figure it out, so we kept riding with it.
“Defensive intensity gives us our offense every game,” Parker said.
Senior guard Sanaa Ricks agreed with her coach, saying defensive intensity pushes the team to be their best.
“Our defense is what gets us going, and our intensity,” she said. “We had that from the jump.”
Between the girls and boys games, Gallatin introduced the newest members of the school’s Hall of Fame, and the evening was designated Union High School Recognition Night to honor Sumner County’s high school for black students before desegregation. For the game, Gallatin wore the maroon uniforms of the Union High Red Devilettes.
“Our game plan was to handle business. And that’s what we did,” said Ricks, who led all scorers with 15 points. “It was about us representing Union High School, and that’s what we did. That was the game plan. Just do us. And we came out here and did that.”
“She always plays hard,” Parker said of Ricks. “You know every single night what Sanaa is going to give you. And that’s huge for us. She’s one of the hardest workers you’ll ever have. I’m just grateful she’s on our team.”
Union had success early attacking the basket, Parker noted. And when her team started to settle for jump shots, she called a timeout to get them back on track.
“In the third quarter, we started shooting jumpers. We don’t shoot jumpers,” Parker said. “We called a time out. We went back to attacking the basket, taking better shots, and getting baskets in transition. That’s where we’re best.”
Hendersonville did most of its damage from behind the 3-point line, hitting nine 3-pointers for the game. All of the Commandos’ 21 points in the first half came from 3-pointers.
Union held a huge advantage from the free throw line, hitting 19-of-23 for the game, which Hendersonville hit three of four free throws.
“They were huge,” Parker said of her team’s free throws. “Nineteen points on free throws, we’ll take that. We work hard on free throws. We struggled the last couple of games, but eventually you just have to hope and pray that all the work pays off.”
Joining Ricks in double figures for the Green Wave were Maggie Hale with 13 points, Nunu Wilks with 11, and Je’Leah Cole with 10.
“Our guards do a lot,” Parker said of Ricks, Hale and Cole. “They rebound, they post up, they push the ball, they shoot, they handle the ball, and they, of course, wear people out on defense, and that’s fun to watch.”
Parker also praised the play of senior reserve post player Faith Hopgood. “She played a fantastic game. She worked really hard defensively,” Parker said. “I told her I’m proud of you. That was one of your best games.”
Jeryn Jarrett led Hendersonville with 13 points.
The win boosted Gallatin’s record to 18-3 and 3-1 in the district. Hendersonville’s record now stands at 12-8 and 3-1 in the district. Gallatin, Hendersonville and Beech are in a three-way tie atop the district standings.
“Our district is hard,” Parker said. “We don’t ever look past anybody. You come ready every night.”
On Tuesday, both teams will return to district action. Gallatin travels to McGavock, and Hendersonville hosts another rival in Station Camp. “Every game in the district seems like that now,” Reed said. “All of them are fun. Hopefully, we’ll respond.”
Girls Box Score
Gallatin (62) Sanaa Ricks 15, Maggie Hale 13, Nunu Wilks 11, Je’Leah Cole 10, Asia Sawyers 8, Seri Bowers 3, Ciallfe Carter 2.
Hendersonville (42) Jeryn Jarrett 13, Areya Rice 9, Abbie Fuqua 8, Lindsey Aldridge 5, Elizabeth Knapp 4, Hannah Martin 3.