The Red Devilettes (6-2) turned the ball over 35 times, as they trailed 20-5 after one, 32-8 at halftime and 51-15 at the end of the third quarter. It was just a poor showing, according to coach Remonica Stephens.
"We played horrible. Didn't want the ball, didn't handle the press at all. The seniors didn't do exactly what we wanted them to do, so we're going to have a little talk about that [today] before the game," Stephens said. "Just didn't execute."
Lyric Maze led Bowdon with six points, while Katlyn Buchanan, Allie Phillips and Sydney Boddie had four points each.
The most important thing is, while the Red Devilettes were hoping to make an appearance in the Classic final today, the games still aren't critical until Region 5-AA play begins Jan. 4 against Bremen.
"Rather now than before we get into region season. This is going to teach them a lot," Stephens said.
However, in today's 4 p.m. third-place game at The Coliseum on the campus of the University of West Georgia against Central, the Red Devilettes can get on track a little before heading into the holiday break.
"We'll see if we've got that bounce-back ability. That's what we just talked about with the girls. 'You got beat, and you got beat, but can you bounce back or are you just going to lay down?' It's a four o'clock game. It's not the game that we wanted, but a lot of teams didn't make it to [Friday]. So we're happy about that. Just have to bounce back," Stephens said.
In other Holiday Classic action from Friday:
Villa Rica girls 52, Mt. Zion 27: The Lady Wildcats (8-4) shook off a disappointing start to the West Georgia Holiday Classic on Thursday to come back with a big win on Friday over the Lady Eagles.
As the game went on, VR got stronger as the lead continued to build. Friday's effort proved that the talk coach James Bailey and his team had after Thursday's game did the trick.
"It was a positive talk. I wasn't fussing or going off, it was just, 'Hey, what's our problem? You tell me so I know what's going on, so I can make sure I get us going right.' The seniors spoke up and said we've got to play like we care and play together. Once they start doing that, they make the game easy. I just put them in place. They're having fun and smiling," Bailey said.
On the other side, the Lady Eagles (4-4) fell for the second time in as many days. MZ held on through the first quarter and most of the second half, but were outscored, 19-6, in the third quarter as Villa Rica started to run away with the game.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game. We played with them for a while, then all of a sudden our girls just got intimidated. We got intimidated by their quickness, we got intimidated by their size, we got intimidated by their presence. The ball's on the floor, they're rolling around for it and we're bending over for it," MZ coach Bill Bailey said. "The frustrating thing is we got out here [Friday] and didn't do things the way that we do in practice."
The combination of Britney Wright and Rhianna Warren led VR with 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Quavadis Kirk's 12-point effort led Mt. Zion.
The Lady Eagles will have a quick turnaround, as they will play the first game of the day at The Coliseum at 10 a.m. against Temple, with both teams looking for their first win of the tournament.
"They've got to handle the adversity, shake it off and come back [today] and play again in the morning. We'll see," Bill Bailey said.
As for the Lady Wildcats, James Bailey hopes the talk and momentum carry over another day. After today's game, VR will be off until Jan. 4 and a return to region play. VR will face Rockmart at 1 p.m. today.
"We're going to have the same type of energy and the same momentum. We'll just take that right on in there and come out of the tournament with two wins. Hey, we'll take the wins. We've got a break coming up and then we've got a real tough start coming back in region play with Lithia Springs," James Bailey said. "Get all the ruffles out, smooth everything and ride it through the region schedule."
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