By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

GAYLESVILLE – The Gaylesville Lady Trojans gave new head coach Cash Allen his first basketball victory on Tuesday night. The Lady Trojans rolled past Georgia School for the Deaf  in their 2026-27 season opener 56-18.

“The first one is always the biggest one. They did extremely well,” Allen said. “We came out in the first quarter and really got after it.”

Gaylesville (1-0) controlled the game from the opening tip, building a 25-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Lady Trojans held a 32-4 advantage at halftime and extended their lead to 46-11 heading into the fourth quarter.

Allen used the opportunity to get several players involved, including some younger girls who had not played much together with the team’s older players.

“I played some girls who haven’t played together. I had some really young girls get in tonight and play with some of the older girls. That slowed things down a little bit, but I always think it’s a big thing letting my older girls lead the younger ones,” Allen said. “They listen to them more than anybody. I was glad to see what happened on the floor and get our first win under our belt.”

Abbie Bishop led Gaylesville with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. She also grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out two assists and recorded a block.

Lydia Reynolds added 14 points, seven rebounds and an assist, while Kylie Canada finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and an assist.

Allen said he was particularly pleased with Bishop’s work in the paint.

“Abbie was huge down low. She really used both hands. That’s always a big plus. She boxes out extremely well and gets rebounds that we need,” he said.

Allen also praised Reynolds for her ability to manage the offense and recognize when the Lady Trojans needed to slow things down.

“She controlled the game very well. When things got out of hand, she backed it out and said, ‘Let’s slow down and run a play. Here we go again.’ That was great to see from her. I knew she could do it,” Allen said.

Allen emphasized the importance of making smart decisions offensively, particularly with the game well in hand.

“I told my girls in a game like that I wanted to have five passes and then hit the obvious shot, the one you could tell that needed to be shot and not just shoot the first one,” he said.

Brian Knapp, Gaylesville’s boys basketball coach and Allen’s father-in-law, was also pleased to see Allen earn his first victory as the Lady Trojans’ head coach.

“That was good (to see Allen get his first win),” Knapp said. “He’s got a starting point. They’ll improve and get better, and that’s all you can ask,” Knapp said.

“I told them before we come out tonight, I said, ‘Girls, you win your first one, and it now turns into fun,’” Allen said. “If you come out and get beat your first game of the year, you’re dreading to come to practice, but they’re all looking forward to it.

“The main thing was we played hard and they did the right thing when I needed them to. They played with a lot of heart.”

Gaylesville travels to Cave Spring to play Georgia School of the Deaf again on Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. Central time.

BOYS
Gaylesville 54, Georgia School for the Deaf 17

GAYLESVILLE – Jack Sentell and Aydn Heinrich both netted a game-high 11 points to lead the Gaylesville Trojans to a basketball season-opening 54-17 victory over Georgia School for the Deaf.

Gaylesville (1-0) set the tone early, jumping out to a 19-5 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Trojans continued to build their advantage in the second quarter, taking a commanding 43-7 lead into halftime.

Hayden Dodd added 10 points for the Trojans (1-0), including a pair of 3-pointers. Bradlee Smith contributed eight points and Malachi Jennings finished with five.

Naiser Jones led Georgia School for the Deaf with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

Gaylesville head coach Brian Knapp said he was pleased with the effort his team showed after a short transition from football.

“We practiced two times a day for about five days now,” he said. “We get after it. They try to do what I ask them to do. I can’t complain about that. It’s good to play that first game against somebody else.”

The game also gave Knapp an opportunity to get several players on the floor and work on some areas that will be important as the season progresses.

“We were able to sub a lot of people. We needed to learn how to use the play clock. That was an opportunity to do that,” he said.

Although they got the season off to a strong start, Knapp knows there is still plenty of room for improvement.

“We got one under our belt, but we’ve got a lot to work on,” he said. “This is a fun group to be around.”