The result was a 68-40 defeat at the hands of Creekview that head coach Donna Enis said helped the Lady Canes identify areas to work on as they try to compete in the upper echelon of their subregion the balance of the season.
Head coach Donna Enis said inexperience is still holding the Lady Canes (4-5) back but she said that's to be expected with a young team.
"We're playing four freshmen, a lot of sophomores and juniors and just one senior," she said. "We just kind of threw them into the fire so we can see how they react.
"We'll have to take the good things we did and build on that. We saw a lot of things we have to work on."
That list just might start with responding to pressure by their opponents, if Tuesday's game is an indication.
The Lady Canes turned the ball over 17 times in the first three quarters of play -- before the game got out of hand -- with many the result of a tight defensive blanket applied by the Grizzlies (11-2).
Cartersville started the contest on even footing with their taller visitors, opening up with a 4-2 lead in the early going.
But four Lady Cane turnovers on successive plays let the Grizzlies move out to a 10-4 lead at the midway point of the first period.
Cartersville responded to the early challenge by April Gary hitting one-of-two foul shots and then a steal by Kaelyn Irby, who carried her bounty in for a quick layup to close to 10-7. Irby added another bucket and Andrienne Green followed suit to give the Lady Canes an 11-10 lead.
The Grizzlies answered with two points and Kea Garnigan gave the Lady Canes their last lead of the evening, at 13-12. An 8-0 run gave Creekview some breathing run and the Grizzlies forced eight turnovers in the second period on their way to a 38-20 lead at the break.
Creekview opened the second half with an 8-3 run -- and appeared ready to run away with the score when a Cartersville 12-5 run closed it to 47-35. That was as close as the Lady Canes could get, though, and the Grizzlies went up 52-36 at the end of three quarters.
The visitors outscored Cartersville 16-4 in the final frame.
Enis said the Lady Canes continued to fight and that's always a positive sign.
"We made a nice little run in the third quarter but then our turnovers killed us," she said.
She said Creekview provided a formidable challenge for her young team.
"I believe they're as good as anyone in our subregion," she said, conceding her scheduling hasn't made things easy for the Lady Canes thus far.
But she said the reason the tough teams are on Cartersville's schedule is because of how she wants the team to finish its season.
"We want to play well in the region tournament," she said.
Leading the scoring for Cartersville was Kaelyn Irby, with 14; Kea Garnigan, 11; and Andrienne Green, 9. Also helping the Lady Canes on the scoreboard were D'Yasmine Richards and Carlee Bragg, with 2 each; and April Gary and Katie O'Connor, with 1 each.
Cartersville will begin its subregion battle Friday night, as it visits Cedartown High. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.