Familiar faces sat in bleachers Tuesday night to watch the Gallatin Green Wave take on the Wilson Central Wildcats in critical District 9-AAA play.
Tuesday night’s slate of games across Sumner County saw attendance skyrocket as Governor Lee decided to lift fan attendance restrictions to high school basketball games.
No longer could we hear what coaches tell their players during a timeout; instead, the noise was filled by the student section and cheering fans.
The jury is still out on whether or not fan attendance, cheerleaders, dance team members will continue to be allowed to attend events, but it was nice to hear cheers, boos and loud yells of encouragement Tuesday night.
On senior night for Gallatin, up first was the Lady Wave and their stellar 10-2 league record. A win over the Lady Cats would all but sure up the second seed for Gallatin.
After a back-and-forth first quarter that saw Gallatin lead, 20-12, Jerry Landers’ crew extended their lead at the break by 16, 40-24, thanks in large part of A’Niya Boone’s 15 first half points.
As dominating as the second quarter was for Gallatin, the third frame turned out to be even more in their favor as they outscored Wilson Central 30-6 for the 70-24 advantage after 24 minutes.
“The first three-four minutes we set the tone in the second half,” Gallatin head coach Jerry Landers said. “It was a good quarter for sure.”
During halftime, the senior Lady Wave members were honored for their contributions to Gallatin High School and the basketball program. Seniors include: Janaya Newsom, Jeremia Montgomery, A’Niya Boone, Talor Crenshaw, Morgan Crossland and Emma Donley.
The group of seniors is Landers’ first four-year class, and one he credits to the turnaround for Gallatin.
“They came in and help raise the win total but more importantly they changed the culture,” Landers said. “This is a group that has worked hard every day, so it’s been fun to see.”
On Friday, Gallatin will play at Portland, host Hendersonville on Tuesday, Feb. 9 and travel to Mt. Juliet to close out the regular season on Feb. 12.
Box Score
Gallatin (70): A’Niya Boone 17, Jeremia Montgomery 14, Janaya Newsom 12, Emma Donley 7, Ja’Leah Cole 8, Maggie Hale 6, Morgan Crossland 3, Talor Crenshaw 2.
Wilson Central (38): Kryne 13, Chloe Smith 12, Smith 6, Crutchfield 2, Pickens 2
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