Mixed Results for Wheeler at Marietta

There was a time when traveling to Marietta would have been as big as they come. The gym would be overflowing with talent, spectators and scouts.

Wheeler’s still doing its part in the rivalry. The Wildcats, one of the state’s top ranked teams, hadn’t lost to a team from the state of Georgia. And they didn’t lose Tuesday either.

J.J. Simmons and Charles Mitchell both scored 21 points to lead the Wildcats to a 74-66 win over the Blue Devils.

Marietta tried to slow the ball down as much as possible, holding the ball for long periods of time, setting its offense and going almost to a stall game.

But Wheeler’s good enough to win playing any style of basketball. And Marietta’s slowdown game meant it was going to have to hit their shots when they eventually took them. Too much of the night, those shots weren’t going in.

The Devils kept it around an eight- to 10-point deficit throughout the first half. But seemingly before Marietta even took a shot – certainly before it made one – Wheeler extended its lead to 14 points.

After getting down by as many as 19 points in the third quarter, Marietta clawed its way back to within five points at the 2:27 mark. But Wheeler wouldn’t let it get closer.

Earlier in the night, the Lady Wildcats lost to Marietta, 47-42.

It wasn’t exactly a clinic on Tuesday at Marietta, but for the first half, Wheeler had enough grit and defense to keep the more-experienced Marietta team.

But one thing Wheeler hasn’t learned how to do, coach Joel Howell said, is how to play with the lead.

“We’ve got a lot of young girls who still play not to lose instead of playing to win,” he said. “That will come with time, but I thought they did well tonight against a team that is more seasoned.”

Guard Aysia Grimsley was scoring early and often in the first half. She scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the first half. Wheeler took a 3-2 lead, and then never trailed in the first half, building a 10-point lead midway through the second quarter.

The Wildcats used a tenacious full-court press, which confounded Marietta, particularly with the Lady Blue Devils’ point guard in early foul trouble.

And underneath, Tasayla Steede, who finished with 13, was more than what Marietta could handle early.

But Grimsley didn’t get off many shots in the second half and the Wildcats were unable to put points on the board.

“We didn’t do a good job of swinging the ball around to her in the second half,” Howell said. “We dribbled way too much instead of swinging it around to the weak side. Had we done that, she’d have gotten more shots. They’re still learning though.”