Bradley Central got a satisfying dose of basketball revenge Saturday, although the stakes were not quite as high, by shellacking Oak Ridge 63-32 to win the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies’ Classic championship at the Hal Henard Gymnasium in Greeneville, Tenn.
Junior point guard Rhyne Howard, who scored six points and fouled out of a state tournament game against Oak Ridge last March, scorched the Lady Wildcats in the title game with a game-high 30 points and 10 rebound as the Bearettes refused to give Oak Ridge’s offense limited scoring opportunities.
“So far this was the most complete gave I’ve had,” said Howard, who was the tournament’s MVP and has narrowed her college choices to Florida, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Kentucky and Purdue.
The Bearettes’ leading scorer and one of the state’s top 2018 prospects, made 13 of 17 shots and almost outscored Oak Ridge’s entire team. Howard was 3 for 3 at the free-throw line and hit 1-of-3 3-pointers.
On the season, Howard is shooting 54.8 percent (114 of 208) from two-point distance, 45.9 percent (34-74) on 3-pointers and 75.9 percent (41 of 54) at the free-throw line. She pulls down 6.9 rebounds and averages 18.9 points per game.
That’s drastically different from her game against the Lady Wildcats at state when she walked off the Middle Tennessee State University court with almost as many fouls (five) as points (six) and two rebounds in a 38-31semifinal loss to the Lady Wildcats. It was Bradley’s first appearance in the semifinals since 2000.
“Getting revenge on Oak Ridge feels good,” Howard said in a telephone interview. “We owed them this game. We were very excited and pumped up to play them in the championship of this tournament.”
Clearly, Howard played like the highly talented Division I prospect that she has become the second time against the Lady Wildcats (13-2). She was aggressive on both ends of the court and much more than Oak Ridge could handle.
“This was Rhyne’s best game of the year and Oak Ridge has kids that will play at the next level,” Bearettes coach Jason Reuter said. “Rhyne proved she was the best player in this tournament. She put on a show offensively and defensively and was a shining star on a great team effort.”
Hughes scored 12 points – the same total she had in the state tournament matchup with Oak Ridge, in which she also fouled out – despite hitting only 3-of-11 shots and going 3 for 9 from the free-throw line.
The senior, and a Lee University signee, could shove her shooting aside by focusing on Saturday’s outcome. She also had four rebounds and four steals.
Emma Kate Brown finished with four points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Hughes and Brown also earned spots on the all-tournament team.
“Considering the stage we were on and Oak Ridge being a really good team, I’d say it was our most impressive game of the season,” Reuter said. “We couldn’t ask any more from our kids and defense was the difference because we just stopped them. Our press slowed them down and once they were in a half-court set Oak Ridge didn’t get many good looks.”
The 6-foot-1 Howard, ball-hawked the Lady Wildcats throughout and came up with seven of the Bearettes’ 16 steals to tie a 28-year-old tournament record with 21 steals in four games.
Hughes had four steals and Emma Kate Brown three.
Bradley Central, top-ranked and unbeaten through 16 games opening the season, scored 30 points off 23 Oak Ridge turnovers. The Bearettes also dominated inside play with 40 points in the paint.
In short, the smothering defense choked off Oak Ridge’s offense by holding it to eight combined points in the second and third quarters when the Bearettes’ built a 31-17 halftime lead. They stretched the margin to 47-20 in the third period.
“We were trying to avenge the loss from last year against a good Oak Ridge team, and we may meet again this year,” Reuter said. “These kids expect to win every time they step on the floor. I have to make sure we keep our act sharp and have our kids ready to play every night, and that’s sometimes hard over a long basketball season. I like our kids’ attitude.”
So overwhelming was Bradley’s defensive play, it beat four opponents – Daniel Boone, Dobyns-Bennett, Morristown West and Oak Ridge – by a total of 104 points. That’s an average winning margin of 26 points.
Howard’s sterling shooting effort helped the Bearettes to shoot 50 percent (26 of 52) from the field. Bradley was 4 of 13 from 3-point distance – Hughes made two – and 7 of 12 from the charity stripe.
The Bearettes held a 31-23 rebounding edge and held the Lady Wildcats to their lowest point total of the season. The previous low came in a 58-42 loss to Hamilton Heights in the Turkey Jamm hosted by Blackman High School in Murfreesboro in late November.
Oak Ridge, coached by former Bearette standout Paige (Redman) Green, was led by Mykia Dowdell’s 12 points. Jada Guinn added 11 points, but they combined for 11 of the Lady Wildcats’ turnovers.
Dowdell had 15 points and Guinn nine in last season’s state tournament showdown against the Bearettes.
“No doubt our kids were tuned in,” Reuter said. “We had a good time in Greeneville and it was a great tournament, but we were on a business trip. We had fun and played hard.”
Bradley Central also won Ladies' Classic titles in 1993 and 1994. Saturday was the first time the Bearettes reached the championship game since the 1994 season.
Bradley Central is off until Jan. 7 when they travel to Crossville for a rematch with Stone Memorial. The Bearettes beat Stone 48-46 on Howard’s buzzer-beating jump shot on Dec. 9 at Jim Smiddy Arena in Cleveland.
That was the Bearettes’ lowest point production of the season and since then they have averaged 68.7 points in seven straight wins. Over 16 games, Bradley averages 66.9 points.
“Stone had a great game plan, they played zone, and we didn’t shoot very well,” Reuter said. “We were headed toward overtime, but we had three kids make great plays. Emma Kate got the inbounds pass to Halle and she hit Rhyne with a pass and Rhyne made the shot with about 1.7 seconds to win it.
“We could have easily lost that game. Stone has an improved team and I’m sure their confidence will be as high as ours, even though they lost that game at our place. They played the number one team to a two-point game.”
LINESCORE
Oak Ridge 12 5 3 12 – 32
Bradley Central 14 17 16 16 – 63
Oak Ridge (32) – Ellison 2, Jada Guinn 11, Kassner, Golden 2, Mykia Dowdell 12, Dean, Bates 5, Copeland.
Bradley Central (63) – Halle Hughes 12, Brown 4, Morgan 7, Rhyne Howard 30, McRee 2, Roberts, Carter 4, K. Hughes, Lombard 2, Walker 2.
3-Point Goals – Oak Ridge none, Bradley Central 4 (H. Hughes 2, Morgan 1, Howard 1).
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)