MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- For the second straight game in the Class A state basketball tournament, the Arts & Sciences girls found themselves having to play from behind.
This time the Lady Patriots never recovered.
The most successful season in CSAS girls' basketball history came to an end Friday with a 41-30 loss to Moore County in the Class A semifinals at Middle Tennessee State University.
"These girls re-wrote the history books the past two years, and they re-wrote it again this season," CSAS coach Clay Martin said. "They don't realize it right now, but they'll remember this forever, and they'll smile about it."
As it did Wednesday, when the Lady Patriots won their first-ever state tournament game, a slow start contributed to their halftime deficit. CSAS struggled offensively in the first quarter Friday, shooting just 1-for-13 from the field and allowing a 14-0 Moore County run that put the Lynchburg, Tenn. school up 16-3 at the end of the period.
"That was really frustrating," CSAS senior Chariah Gordon said. "Our shots are usually what gets us going. Our energy was pretty high, but our shots just weren't falling today."
Moore County had offensive struggles of its own in the second quarter, when it didn't score until the 2:10 mark. In the interval, the Lady Patriots cut their deficit to eight points, then pulled within 18-14 after Gordon converted a Kayla Kelly steal.
CSAS had opportunities to get even closer before the end of the half, but after the Lady Patriots missed a layup, a 3-pointer and a jumper, Moore County scored on a putback at the buzzer to take a 20-14 lead into the break.
"When we've been down, we've been able to come back, but today just wasn't our day," Kelly said. "We gave it a really good push in the second quarter, but then they got that shot at the end to go back up six. It just didn't happen for us."
The Lady Patriots' defense continued creating turnovers in the third quarter, but time after time, CSAS was unable to convert on the other end. They managed just two points in the period, and a Moore County 3-pointer made it 29-15 with 3:19 left in the third.
CSAS had the opportunity to cut its deficit to eight points with a 3-pointer two minutes into the fourth, but after the Lady Patriots' shot wouldn't fall, the Lady Raiders connected on one to go up 32-18, a lead they would not relinquish.
"We fought back and we were in it," Martin said. "We just needed one more push, but it didn't happen."
CSAS ended the game shooting just 24.5-percent from the floor. Junior Robyn Anthony led the Lady Patriots with 11 points and four steals, as seniors Kelly, Gordon and Alexis Anderson ended their final season with a 28-7 record.
"I don't have any regrets," Anderson said. "We had a great year."
(E-mail Jaime Lackey at jaimenlackey@yahoo.com)
Official Basketball Box Score
Moore County vs Chattanooga Arts
3/12/10 11:30 AM at Murphy Center (Murfreesboro, TN)
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VISITORS: Moore County 28-7
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
11 Garland, Rachel..... * 5-14 1-2 0-0 1 2 3 3 11 2 7 0 1 29
12 Kight, Cassie....... * 2-3 1-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 5 2 0 0 1 27
21 Taylor, Allata...... * 3-5 2-4 2-4 1 3 4 5 10 1 5 0 2 25
22 Raby, Sarah......... * 0-3 0-0 4-4 0 9 9 1 4 0 4 0 0 28
30 Vann, Heather....... * 4-8 0-1 3-5 4 6 10 2 11 1 3 0 1 32
31 Howell, Amber....... 0-1 0-1 0-2 2 3 5 4 0 1 2 0 1 19
TEAM................ 4 4
Totals.............. 14-34 4-9 9-15 8 29 37 16 41 7 21 0 6 160
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-20 45.0% 2nd Half: 5-14 35.7% Game: 41.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 2-4 50.0% Game: 44.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 0-3 0.0% 2nd Half: 9-12 75.0% Game: 60.0% 2
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HOME TEAM: Chattanooga Arts 28-7
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 Anthony, Robin...... * 3-9 0-1 5-10 0 1 1 4 11 1 1 0 4 32
10 Anderson, Alexis.... * 1-9 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 4 2 1 5 0 1 32
21 Gordon, Chariah..... * 4-16 0-4 0-1 2 4 6 4 8 2 4 0 1 32
32 Kelly, Kayla........ * 2-8 1-4 0-0 2 5 7 2 5 0 1 2 5 32
40 McPherson, Courtney. * 2-7 0-0 0-1 7 3 10 2 4 1 4 1 1 32
30 Ziegler, Emma....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TEAM................ 1 1 2
Totals.............. 12-49 1-10 5-12 13 16 29 16 30 5 15 3 12 160
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 6-24 25.0% 2nd Half: 6-25 24.0% Game: 24.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-7 14.3% 2nd Half: 0-3 0.0% Game: 10.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-3 33.3% 2nd Half: 4-9 44.4% Game: 41.7% 2
Coach Clay Martin celebrates his team's defense in the second quarter.
- Photo2 by
Ken Wallace