When the Lady Dogs of GMC Prep took the floor against Stratford on a road a couple weeks ago it resulted in a very one-sided win for the Lady Eagles. That was not the case Saturday afternoon when the two teams met for a rematch in the Cordell Events Center as the Lady Dogs’ fourth quarter surge gave them the 51-43 victory, their first of the season.

“I think we played amazing basketball today,” said GMC Prep girls’ head coach Shawn Dennis. “We played great team ball, great defense, and the effort and intensity were there. That’s the best we’ve played all year.”

Senior Anna Layne Lawson led the team in scoring and did a majority of her damage early on by hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the opening quarter to help set the tone. Stratford’s full court pressure defense was not having the same effect as it did in the first meeting as Lady Dogs Kate McGhee and Kennedy-Paige Davis took turns beating the press all game long.

A 3-pointer from Stratford looked like it might give the visitors a comfortable five-point lead going into the half but an offensive rebound and putback from freshman Ju’Niah Beal helped close the advantage to just three at the break.

Lawson and McGhee each came out of the break with a jumper to give GMC Prep its first lead since early in the second quarter. Beal got the ball under the basket with about three minutes to go in the penultimate period and was fouled on a made shot. She knocked down the free throw to put her team up three, but a 5-0 run by the Lady Eagles gave them a two-point advantage heading into the fourth and deciding quarter.

The lead see-sawed for the first part of the final quarter until Stratford looked like they might run away with it with about four minutes left. Sophomore Cire Foston provided the answer her team needed with an and one to get GMC Prep within a single point. A rough 3-for-9 performance from the free throw line by Stratford helped the Lady Dogs close out the first win of the season as Foston, Lawson, and Davis each had contributions in the closing minutes of the contest.

Foston finished the game with 12 points while Davis added 10 in the win.

Coach Dennis said after the victory that defense was the difference between Saturday’s win and the prior 65-29 loss to the Lady Eagles.

“The difference I think was our defense,” said the head coach. “Last time we played we let one girl knock down six 3-pointers. Today we held the team to two three-pointers, so we closed out on the three-point line, we boxed out, and we rebounded and got the ball in transition. We did all the little things we needed to win the game.”

The 1-3 GMC Prep girls are on the road tonight to face the Lady Tigers of Greene County in what is now a region matchup since they have moved down to Class A. The Lady Tigers have yet to get a win under their belts on the young season. The two teams tip in Greensboro tonight at 6 p.m. The Lady Dogs will be back at home Friday night to face Washington-Wilkes at 6 p.m.