Gatewood pulls away from Westfield in semifinal

Westfield hung close for a little more than a quarter on Friday night against Gatewood before the Gators pulled away to win 43-28 in the GISA Class AAA girls semifinals at Mercer's Hawkins Arena.

The Gators (28-1) face Westwood at 5:20 p.m. on Saturday for the state championship.

The Hornets (13-16) trailed 10-8 in the second quarter but were unable to keep pace with the Gators, whose pivotal scoring spurts to end the second quarter and start the third more or less put the game away.

FOUR WHO MATTERED

Bailey Turner, Gatewood: The Gators prevailed in the post thanks to Turner, who had 11 points.

Brenlyn Morris, Gatewood: The Gators patented defensive effort was led by Morris. The Gators' guard also had 11 points to lead all players in scoring.

Unique Tuberville, Westfield: Although Gatewood led by nearly 20 points in the the third quarter, it didn't walk away with a lopsided win. Tuberville, who scrapped her way to 10 points, was a key reason why.

Gracie Duggan, Westfield: Her nine-point night gave the Gators something to keep tabs on defensively.

TURNING POINT

After beginning to pull away in the second quarter, Gatewood kicked things up a few notches coming out of halftime, going on a 7-0 run through the first five minutes of the third quarter to lead 29-12. With the way that the Gators were clamping down on the Hornets and not allowing them to get much offensive traction, that edge was more than enough for Gatewood.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Gatewood faces Westwood for the GISA Class AAA girls championship at 5:20 p.m. on Saturday. The Wildcats beat Heritage 41-35 in the other girls Class AAA semifinal on Saturday.

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 9:37 PM with the headline "Gatewood pulls away from Westfield in semifinal ."