CENTRE – Sand Rock girls basketball coach Lisa Bates knew her team faced a tremendous challenge in its opening-round game of the Cherokee Invitational on Saturday. The Lady Wildcats drew Class 3A, No. 3 Woodland, which features one of the state’s top basketball players in Auburn signee Courtney Strain.

Sand Rock held its own against Strain, limiting her to just 10 points, but the other Lady Bobcats were able to pick up the slack in a 54-40 victory at the Gadsden State-Cherokee Arena.

Woodland (9-0) advances to face Glencoe (10-1) in the tournament quarterfinals on Monday at 3 p.m. Sand Rock (7-6) takes on Spring Garden (7-4) in a consolation bracket game on Monday at noon.

“I was proud of our effort,” Bates said. “We knew that was a very good team going in, and our whole goal was to hold her (Strain) under 20. I think we taught ourselves we could play some defense today.

“We had some trouble scoring, and that’s been our problem all year. We’re going to have to focus on being a defensive team, and I think we proved that to ourselves today we could do that.”

The Lady Wildcats found themselves behind early. Woodland jumped out to a 17-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and trailed 27-11 at the half.

The Bobcats held a 39-24 advantage after three quarters before Sand Rock began to chip away. Nicole Soignet’s 3-pointer at the 3:40 mark of the fourth quarter cut Woodland’s lead to 47-36. However, the Bobcats were able to close out the game.

Soignet finished the game hitting three 3-pointers and ended with 10 points and four rebounds.

“She hit some big shots to get us back into the ball game,” Bates said. “She helped us out to where it was close enough to actually consider it a ball game in the fourth quarter after it had been a blowout for such a while.

“It would have been a different ball game if we hadn’t have started off 13-0. We started off real passive on offense and that hurt us. We had a ton of turnovers (33). We didn’t hit free throws like we’re supposed to. If we would have done that, then it would have been a different ball game.”

Gena Farmer led Sand Rock with 17 points, 12 boards, four assists and four steals. Emily Ozment had five points and Karlie Anderson finished with four points and six rebounds.

Anderson drew the assignment of guarding Strain.

“I thought Karlie Anderson did a fantastic job on defense,” Bates said. “I credit her for being able to go so long and to do really well on her.”

While one Strain was held in check, another led the charge for the Bobcats. Leah Strain finished with 18 points. Shanna Strain and Katlin Edmondson both had six points.

The following is a roundup of Saturday’s other Cherokee Invitational girls opening-round games.

Girls

Chattooga, Ga. 48, Spring Garden 35 – Lynley Crabb scored 11 points, including a 5 of 6 performance at the free-throw line, but it wasn’t enough for Spring Garden to get past Chattooga.

Jordan Sides added 10 points for the Lady Panthers (7-4). Kelsey Turner had nine points.

Chattooga was led by Mariah Price’s 20 points. Shadow Day added nine points and Lauren Esmann finished with six points.

Chattooga led throughout the game. It held a 10-9 advantage at the end of the first quarter and extended its lead to 22-16 at the break. The Lady Indians led 40-23 after three quarters.

Chattooga advances to the tournament quarterfinals, where it will face Cherokee County on Monday at 6 p.m. Spring Garden faces Sand Rock in a consolation game on Monday at noon.

Glencoe 54, Cedar Bluff 43 – Glencoe jumped out to a big lead early and held on down the stretch for the win.

Breonna Cole led the Lady Yellowjackets (10-1) with 15 points. Meagan Clark added 11 points. Jordan Noles came away with seven points. Ashley Noles and Baileigh Little both had six points.

Jessica Brannon led Cedar Bluff (3-6) with 15 points. Candria Dupree added 10 points and Lindsey Lambert finished with six points.

Glencoe led throughout the game. The Yellowjackets jumped out to a 17-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and held a 33-9 lead at the break. Glencoe took a 46-25 lead heading into the fourth.

Glencoe advances to face Woodland in the tournament quarterfinals on Monday at 3 p.m. Cedar Bluff takes on Gaylesville in a consolation game at 9 a.m. Monday.

Cherokee County 49, Gaylesville 35 – Lynden Curry netted 21 points to lead Cherokee County past Gaylesville.

Candace Blanchard and Tori Davis both contributed five points for the Lady Warriors (4-1).

Olivia Matthews led the Lady Trojans (2-9) with 11 points. Kaitlin Hammett added 10 points. Krysta Nichols came away with nine points and Amber Moseley finished with five points.

Cherokee County jumped out to a 17-3 first-quarter lead and held a 29-14 advantage at the half. The Warriors led 39-21 after three quarters.

Cherokee County advances to face Chattooga in the tournament quarterfinals on Monday at 6 p.m. Gaylesville meets Cedar Bluff in a consolation game at 9 a.m. on Monday.