“Keisha was as good as she’s ever been,” Athens Drive coach Chris Danehower said. “She had her way, and they had two people on her the whole game.”

After Wakefield scored the first four points of the game, Gatling scored the next nine to push the JagsÂ’ lead to five. The Wolverines steadied themselves late in the quarter, but trailed Athens 13-10 after the opening eight minutes.

In the second quarter Wakefield denied Gatling the basketball, but in the process forgot to cover guard Lainey Childrey. Childrey scored the Jags’ first seven points of the period as part of a 12-5 run, which pushed the lead to 10 midway through the quarter. She finished with nine – all coming in the second quarter.

But as quickly as Athens pulled away, the Wolverines stormed back. Wakefield mounted a 10-1 run of its own to pull within one at 26-25 headed into the half. The Jags one point came in the waning seconds of the half via a Gatling free throw, which was her only point of the second quarter.

“Wakefield put pressure on our guards and we were soft,” Danehower said. “We talked about taking care of the ball and playing tougher at halftime. And in the second half, we did a much better job.”

The Wolverines managed to keep pace through the third quarter and only trailed by four entering the fourth, but Gatling had begun to reestablish her prowess in the post. And in the final frame, the Jags continued to feed the big center, who seemingly scored at will.

“I always feel like no one can stop me,” Gatling said. “And my teammates say they feed of my play and my energy, so I feel like it’s up to me to lead the way.”

Athens pulled out to its biggest lead of the game at 54-43 and sealed with the victory with some solid free throw shooting late. Senior forward Rachel Collins handled most of the duties at the line and finished with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and eight assists.

“Rachel’s a scrapper,” Danehower said. “She’s always finds a way to make a play to help us win. Plus, she and Keisha have played together for so long they always know what the other is going to do before they do it.”

For the Jags, itÂ’s on to the third round and a date with Enloe. The Eagles advanced with a win over Southern Durham on Wednesday and will host Athens on Friday.