Bledsoe County went into the District 7-AA tournament as No. 1 seed, with only one district loss and emerged unscathed Monday night as the tournament champions. The Warriors fought off the Lady Chargers for the 59-48 championship win.
Anna Peters, tournament MVP, put up 17 points for Bledsoe County, and Emily Stults added another 14 for the Lady Warriors.
Joanna Smith led CCS with 21 points and Hannah Henry had 11 for the Lady Chargers.
Although Bledsoe finished the game 11 points ahead, the win was never really out of reach for the Lady Chargers.
CCS led by a point at the end of the first quarter. Anna Peters found the net four times for Bledsoe and Emily Stuts sunk two three-pointers to give Bledsoe a cushion as half-time approached. CCS' Joanna Smith nailed a buzzer-beater at the half to bring the Lady Chargers within five points. Bledsoe led 27-22 at the break.
Both teams played hard through the third quarter, but CCS finally re-gained the lead, 32-31, with a defensive rebound from Smith who kicked it out to Henry for a lay-up off the fast break with just over two minutes left in the period. Bledsoe fought back for the 40-37 lead going into the fourth quarter.
As the Lady Chargers ran out of time, they were unable to cut the lead. Although CCS outscored Bledsoe 10-7 from the field in the final quarter, the Lady Warriors brought it home from the free-throw line. Bledsoe County made 12 of their 14 fourth quarter foul shots to put themselves ahead for the 59-48 win.
The Lady Warriors are now 21-4 for the season and 9-1 in the district.
Chattanooga Christian is 17-10 and are 5-5 in District 7-AA.
Both teams advance. Bledsoe County will host Murfreesboro Central and CCS will host Smith County Friday, February 21 at 7 p.m. in the Region 4-AA quarterfinals.
In the consolation game Sequatchie County defeated Signal Mountain 52-48.
Signal Mountain led 23-21 at the half and was up 39-31 going into the final quarter.
Ireland Burch scored six points for Sequatchie in the fourth quarter and Kelly Frederick and Kaylee Smith combined for 10 points from the free-throw line to give their team the edge at the end of the game.
Frederick finished with 17 total points and Smith had 15. Burch added 13 points for Sequatchie County.
Aryn Sanders led Signal Mountain with 17 points and Anna Althaus had 12.
Both Sequatchie County and Signal Mountain also advance to the region tournament. Signal Mountain will play at Cannon County and Sequatchie will play at Livingston Academy Friday, February 21 at 7 p.m.
Boys district play will continue Tuesday night. CCS will face Notre Dame at 5 p.m. in the consolation game while Bledsoe County and Signal Mountain fight it out in the championship at 7 p.m. Both games will be played at Signal Mountain High School.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Bledsoe County 11 16 13 19 - 59
Chattanooga Christian 12 10 15 11 - 48
Bledsoe County (59) - Anna Peters 17, Emily Stults 14, Catherine Davis 9, Destanie Smith 8, Katie Morris 6, Ashley Gilbert 4
Chattanooga Christian (48) - Joanna Smith 21, Hannah Henry 11, Allison Hughes 8, Rachael Delashmitt 5, Sara Farlett 2, Clara Dirkse 1
3-Point Goals: Bledsoe County 2 (Gilbert, Davis); Chattanooga Christian 4 (Smith-3, Delashmitt)
CONSOLATION GAME:
Sequatchie County 13 8 10 21 -52
Signal Mountain 10 13 16 9 - 48
Sequatchie County (52) - Kelly Frederick 17, Kaylee Smith 15, Ireland Burch 13, Allyson Davenport 4, Maria Hobbs 3
Signal Mountain (48) - Aryn Sanders 17, Anna Althaus 12, Lydia Blesoe 9, Marie Whitmire 8, Janie Boals 2
3-Point Goals: Sequatchie County 2 (Davenport, Hobbs) Signal Mountain 5 (Althaus-4, Bledsoe)
2014 All-District 7-AA Girls Team (Regular Season):
Destanie Smith, Blesoe County
Anna Peters, Bledsoe County
Catherine Davis, Bledsoe County
Joanna Smith, Chattanooga Christian
Hannah Henry, Chattanooga Christian
Allison Hughes, Chattanooga Christian
Kaylee Smith, Sequatchie County
Aryn Sanders, Signal Mountain
Janie Boals, Signal Mountain
Taelor Hill, Notre Dame
Morgan Cantrell, Notre Dame
Kristin Hill, Grundy County
Mikayla Williams, Grundy County
2014 Coach of the Year - Jason Hill, Signal Mountain
2014 7-AA All-Tournament Team:
MVP - Anna Peters, Bledsoe County
Aryn Sanders, Signal Mountain
Kelly Frederick, Sequatchie County
Joanna Smith, Chattanooga Christian
Destanie Smith, Bledsoe County