The momentum that the Boyd-Buchanan girls’ basketball team began building during the district tournament carried over into the Region 3-A quarterfinals for the Lady Bucs.
The District 5 champions cruised to a 54-23 victory over Whitwell at home on Monday night, and will play in the region semifinals on Wednesday, when the tournament moves to South Pittsburg.
“Probably in the last three weeks, we’ve just started peaking,” Boyd-Buchanan coach Tracey Walker said.
“Tournament time is when it really matters, and I think we’re playing more as a team than we were through the first and middle parts of the year.”
The Lady Bucs will face Silverdale Baptist, which held on for a 39-37 upset victory at Lookout Valley in its quarterfinal matchup. After a 58-40 win over Marion County on Monday, second-seeded 5-A team Arts & Sciences earned a spot in the semifinals against District 6 champion Van Buren County, a 72-47 winner over Grace Academy on Monday.
Against Whitwell, the fourth-seeded team from District 6-A, Boyd-Buchanan used a balanced scoring effort to pull away midway through the first quarter, and never looked back.
“I felt like we matched up pretty well with them,” Walker said. “They’re a well-coached team, and they move the ball really well. But size-wise and matchup wise, I thought it was a good matchup for us.”
The Lady Bucs found junior Maddie Wright inside for six points in the second quarter as they pulled away to a 27-13 halftime lead. Walker said that during the break, she cautioned her players to avoid the type of run they gave up during the second half of the district final, when they nearly allowed an Arts & Sciences comeback.
“We wanted to make sure we continued to take care of the ball and get on the boards,” Walker said. “We wanted to just give them one shot at it, and I think we did a little better on the boards in the second half. But we mostly just wanted them to keep up the hustle. Teams that have been in these situations, like Whitwell has, they don’t stop and they don’t quit. We told them to be ready for a run, and I thought we handled it a little better tonight than we did in our last game, so hopefully we’re learning.”
In the second half, Boyd-Buchanan continued pounding the ball inside, and Wright finished with a game-high 22 points in the 54-23 win. She also contributed 16 rebounds and three steals, while Marissa McCalla followed with eight points and seven boards.
The region tournament will continue Tuesday night with higher-seeded boys teams hosting quarterfinals. The Boyd-Buchanan boys will host Marion County, while Lookout Valley will travel to Arts & Sciences. The Silverdale boys will play at Sale Creek, and Grace Academy will be on the road against Van Buren County.
The 3-A boys’ and girls’ semifinals will be played Wednesday at South Pittsburg High School, with the finals scheduled for Thursday.
(E-mail Jaime Barrett at jaimenbarrett@gmail.com)
Region 3-A girls’ quarterfinals
At Boyd-Buchanan
BOYD-BUCHANAN 54, WHITWELL 23
Whitwell 8 5 6 4 -- 23
Boyd-Buchanan 15 12 17 10 -- 54
Whitwell (23) -- Anna Worley 10, K. Smith 7, Hedrick 4, Muir 2, Haag, Brown, Hicks, Pickett, Rains, R. Smith.
Boyd-Buchanan (54) -- Maddie Wright 22, McCalla 8, Balthrop 6, Abed 5, Parker 4, Hiland 4, Highfield 3, Balthrop 2, Sewell, High.
3-point goals: Whitwell 1 (K. Smith); Boyd-Buchanan 2 (Abed, Highfield).
At Arts & Sciences
ARTS & SCIENCES 58, MARION COUNTY 40
Marion County 4 12 12 12 -- 40
Arts & Sciences 7 20 19 12 -- 58
Marion County (40) -- Gibson 6, Emily Webb 19, Glass, St. Clair 7, Gibson 3, A. Webb, Hampton, McGrew 3, Vinson, Rash 2, Pace, Bailey, Leonard.
Arts & Sciences (58) -- Hampton, Harris, Little 6, Pruitt, Keturah Billen 16, Sarah McElvain 14, Lennex Walker 16, Randolph 2, Hinton, Williams, Justice 1, Ealey 2.
3-point goals: Marion County 3 (E. Webb, Gibson, McGrew); Arts & Sciences 2 (Walker 2).