Shumate, Tide rally to win

It was a good night to be a Shumate, especially if your first name happened to be Bailey.

Craig Worrell

Bailey Shumate, her family and GHS coach Yerrick Stoneman gather as Shumate is presented the game ball after scoring her 1,000th career point.

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Craig Worrell

Taylor Bryant (20) boxes out North Wilkes’ Allia Church in the fourth quarter of Galax’s 59-55 win Monday.

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Alley Shumate of North Wilkes, N.C. racked up 22 points, but Bailey Shumate of Galax got 21 points, surpassed a milestone and enjoyed the win as the Maroon Tide stormed from behind for a 59-55 nondistrict triumph in a girls’ game Monday night.

The Galax Shumate topped 1,000 points for her career while leading a comeback that saw the Maroon Tide rally from a 15-point second-period deficit to avenge an earlier loss to the Vikings.

“She lacked nine points coming in,” Galax coach Yerrick Stoneman said. “I was hoping she didn’t know about it, but she really didn’t force it. Once she did get it, the team settled down and we really played good basketball. I’m thrilled for her. It’s the first girl since Lindsey Nelson to do it, and that was in 2003, so it’s been several years. I’m really happy for her and her family. She’s put a lot of time and effort into it and this is something she’ll always remember.”

Shumate’s first points of the second half, a transition layup off a Hailey Cassell pass with 58 seconds to play in the third quarter, helped the Maroon continue to chip away at the Vikings’ lead and enter the fourth period down 41-35.

Sydney Lindsey opened the fourth with a putback and a pair of foul shots for Galax, but North Wilkes held on to its lead until the Maroon Tide went over the top with an 8-0 run three minutes later. Lindsey turned a steal into a two-shot foul, tying the game at 45 with the first attempt, while Bailey Shumate grabbed the missed second shot and later swished a 3-pointer off a Taylor Bryant kick-out. Allison White capped the run with a driving bucket with 4:17 to go for a 50-45 lead.

North Wilkes got to within a point of the Tide in the final seconds. Channing Russell hit a foul shot on separate possessions for a 56-52 Galax lead but Alley Shumate knocked down a 3-pointer with 7.5 ticks to go. The Vikings instinctively called timeout, of which they had none, and Bailey Shumate hit both free throws, then hit one of two on the ensuing possession to ice the win.

Galax had its work cut out for it as Alley Shumate hit two 3-pointers and  Jackie Denny scored seven points for a 19-4 North Wilkes lead early in the second period. A Bailey Shumate trey and two Lindsey foul shots got Galax to within nine points midway through the second, and the Tide held its ground despite mounting foul trouble the rest of the half to trail 31-22 at the break.

“We really struggled with our offensive sets and we came out flat. We ended up playing six bad quarters,” Stoneman said, referring two four sub-par quarters Friday in a tight win over Narrows. “The good thing was we were able to cut it to 10 at the half, and defensively we stepped it up. We went away from our press and played straight man-to-man, and the girls have really worked hard on their man defense.” 

Cassell hit a 3-pointer to draw Galax to within 33-29 with 3:11 left in the third, but Wilkes got treys from Allia Church and Alley Shumate to pull back out to a 39-31 lead before Galax’s comeback took off following Bailey Shumate’s 1,000th point.

“We needed that,” Stoneman said. “They are very athletic and skilled, and I know down the road, maybe regionals, we’re going to see teams just like that who we’re going to have to match up with. It was two totally different halves.”

Denny scored 19 points and Church added 11 for North Wilkes. Lindsey had 12 points, White provided 10 points and eight rebounds and Bryant contributed eight points and five assists for the Maroon Tide.

N.Wilkes, N.C.......18  13  10  14––55

Galax......................4  18  13  24––59

North Wilkes, N.C. (11-7)

Wagoner 0 0-0 0, A.Shumate 7 4-6 22, Bumgarner 0 0-0 0, Barnes 0 0-0 0, Wyatt 1 0-1 2, Denny 6 7-14 19, Blevins 0 1-4 1, Church 4 2-3 11. Totals 17 14-28 55.

Galax (13-3)

Russell 2 2-5 6, B.Shumate 7 3-4 21, White 5 0-1 10, Bryant 1 0-0 2, Ha.Cassell 3 1-4 8, Davis 0 0-0 0, Ayers 0 0-0 0, Hanks 0 0-0 0, Lindsey 3 6-9 12. Totals 15 12-23 59.

Three-point field goals – N.Wilkes 5 (A.Shumate 4, Church) Galax 5 (B.Shumate 4, Ha.Cassell). Team fouls – N.Wilkes 20, Galax 18. Fouled out – A.Shumate. Technical fouls – N.Wilkes bench.

JV – Galax won.