Kaleigh Hughes, a 5-foot-8 junior guard, scored a team-high 23 points and sparked a third-quarter rally that led Bradley Central to a hard-fought 64-56 victory over tenacious South Greene in the 29th Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic in Greeneville, Tennessee, on Saturday.
Hughes’ 10 points helped the Bearettes outscore the Lady Rebels, 25-10, in the third quarter and that gave Bradley a 51-44 lead going into the fourth period.
Hughes made 8 of 14 shots and 6 for 11 behind the 3-point arc.
Ranked No. 2 by MaxPreps in Tennessee among Class 3A schools, Bradley advanced to Saturday’s championship game against Oak Ridge. Tipoff at Hal Henard Gym at 4:30 p.m. Oak Ridge beat West Clermont (Ohio), 56-44, in the other semifinal game.
Bradley Central routed Oak Ridge, 63-32, to win the 2016 classic title.
The Bearettes (15-0) got off to a sluggish start and fell behind 12-4 after the first quarter. They came to life in the second period, but still trailed South Greene 34-26 at halftime.
While trying to shift into a higher offensive gear themselves, the Bearettes had trouble containing South Greene’s Taylor Lamb, who finished with a game-high 32 points on 9 of 13 shooting. Lamb went 14 for 17 at the free-throw line and pulled down 15 rebounds, 14 on the defensive boards.
Lamb’s performance was key to the Lady Rebels shooting a sizzling 62 percent (18 of 29) from the field and 18 of 25 (72 percent) at the free-throw line.
Lamb is a two-time Miss Basketball finalist.
The Lady Rebels (14-2) pushed their lead to 25-8 in the second period, but Bradley sliced the deficit to 34-26 by halftime. The Bearettes outscored South Greene 12-4 to start the third quarter and tied the game at 28-all on Hughes’ layup.
Thirty-five seconds later, Rhyne Howard knocked down a 3-pointer and Bradley went up 41-38. That lead went to 51-42 when Alexis Barnes scored on a layup off a Hughes assist. Anna Walker’s three-point play extended the Bearettes’ lead to 60-52 with 3:22 remaining.
The two teams failed to score over the next two minutes until Bradley’s Cambree Mayo dropped in a free throw for a 61-52 lead. South Greene’s Braelyn Wykle scored on a layup and Hughes hit 1 of 2 free throws at the 23-second mark.
Howard countered with two free throws with 14 seconds left and Wykle’s jumper with just three seconds on the clock.
After shooting 32 percent in the first half, the Bearettes found their shooting touch and hit 13 of 25 shots (52 percent) after halftime.
Howard finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. She added five steals and four assists. Bradley forced 25 turnovers and had a 28-10 scoring edge off those mistakes. Howard now has 2,016 career points stands 11th on Bradley's all-time scoring list. She is 141 points behind No. 10 Traci Dixon (2,157).
Bradley’s long-distance shooting, triggered by Hughes’ standout effort, enabled the Bearettes to outscore South Greene 30-6 in that category.
Kinsley Wykle scored 10 points for the Lady Rebels.
Boxscore
South Greene 12 22 10 12 – 56
Bradley Central 4 22 25 13 – 64
South Greene (56) – B. Wykle 5, Franklin 5, reaves 4, Williams, Taylor Lamb 32, Kinsley Wykle 10, K. Collins, Merriweather, M. Collins, Howlett.
Bradley Central (64) – Kaleigh Hughes 23, Roberts 2, Rhyne Howard 16, Anna Walker 9, Lombard 7, Mayo 1, Blair, Barnes 6.
3-Point Goals – South Greene 2 (K. Wykle 2), Bradley Central 10 (Hughes 6, Howard 2, Lombard 2).
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)