photo by Greg Davick
It was a tale of two basketball games Monday night at Tennessee Temple’s McGilvray Gymnasium for the Region 3-A girls’ semifinals.
The Copper Basin Lady Cougars and the CSAS Lady Patriots both advanced to Thursday night's championship game with big wins, but the two victories were anything but similar.
The Lady Cougars eliminated the Grace Academy Lady Golden Eagles by a 48-45 margin in overtime. The second game wasn’t nearly as exciting as the Lady Patriots cruised to a 55-39 decision in a game that really wasn’t that close.
The boys take center stage on Tuesday night and both games promise to be barn-burners. District 5 champ Temple will challenge the Silverdale Seahawks in the opener at 6 while District 6 winner CSAS will face District 5 runner-up Grace Academy in the nightcap at 7:45.
If you want to see high school basketball action at its best and want to see four teams really lay it on the line, make your plans to get there early because the gym will fill up and you don't want to get turned away.
COPPER BASIN 48, GRACE ACADEMY 45: It was a celebration worth remembering for the Copper Basin girls while it was a case of heartbreak hotel for Grace.
It was close from the opening whistle. The score was tied at 13 following the first quarter before the Lady Cougars pulled ahead by 22-18 at intermission. Copper Basin maintained that four-point advantage after three quarters before Grace turned up the intensity level in the final eight minutes.
The game was tied three times in the final stanza, although Grace never gained the upper hand. Brittney Hyatt hit the first of two free throws with 1:28 remaining in regulation to knot the score at 41 and Grace appeared happy to let the clock wind down as they prepared for a possible game-winning shot at the end.
Hyatt got a key steal before getting fouled with 3.4 seconds remaining, but she missed the critical first free throw and the game went into overtime.
That’s when Lady Cougar junior Lindsey Cole took charge. Her long 3-pointer from the wing gave Copper Basin a 44-41 lead with just over two minutes remaining before Kaylan Dilts and Erica Elleman scored back-to-back buckets to give Grace a 45-44 lead with 30 seconds remaining.
Cole nailed two free throws with 23.9 seconds remaining to give the Lady Cougars the lead at 46-45. She hit two more with 6.4 seconds for a three-point lead as Grace had one final opportunity.
Dilts got a good look from 3-point range, but her shot was partially blocked and the Lady Cougars grabbed the deflection as the thrilling contest came to an end.
Copper Basin coach Amy McGowan was certainly happy with the outcome.
“It’s always good to win against Grace, but I think we just wanted it more than they did tonight. We were two pretty evenly-matched teams who split our regular-season games, but we made some big plays tonight when they counted. And it always helps when you hit free throws at the end,” she said after her team improved to 18-11.
Cole was another one who was pleased with the outcome.
“I knew I couldn’t afford to get nervous, so I just tried to focus on what I was doing,” she said in reference to those final four free throws.
“This is our biggest win of the season. We could have been smarter on offense, but we did exactly what we were told to do on defense and it won the game for us. I feel like I’m a pretty good free throw shooter, so I felt confident when I got the opportunity at the end,” she added.
Grace coach Les Compton was quick to compliment the Lady Cougars for a job well done. He also had praise for his own team.
“Give all the credit to Copper Basin because they made one more big play at a critical moment than we did. I’m disappointed with the result, but we’ve had a great year and this is a great team. We’ll be back.
“It wasn’t one play or one player who cost us this game. It was a case of inconsistent movement, a lack of execution and poor decision making. Those three things cost us,” he added.
Cole had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the Copper Basin attack as she played the entire game. Hyatt followed with a dozen points and 10 rebounds. Cheyanne Dena was next with nine points.
Dilts was again the leader for Grace as she scored 23 points, including 16 in that frantic second half. She also grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked five shots.
Diana Patrick was next with nine points before fouling out late. Elleman finished with seven points.
Both teams had similar numbers as far as shooting percentages. Copper Basin was 16 of 45 from the field for 35.6 percent while Grace hit 32.7 percent on 18 of 55. The Lady Cougars were better from long range as they hit five of eight for 62.5 percent as compared to just two of 13 for Grace for 15.4 percent. Copper Basin sank 11 of 18 free throws while Grace was good on seven of 12.
CSAS 55, SOUTH PITTSBURG 39: This one wasn’t as close as the final score might indicate.
The Lady Patriots built a comfortable 29-15 lead at intermission and stretched it to 48-22 when the third quarter ended. The biggest lead came at 55-25 following a layup by Alexis Anderson with 6:08 to play.
Things got sloppy after that as both teams substituted freely and that’s when the Lady Pirates cut the final margin to a more-respectable 16 points.
“We started out kind of sluggish, but we played better in the second half,” said CSAS coach Clay Martin after his team improved to 23-6 for the year.
“For the most part, I’m pleased with the way we played. I knew that if we just came out and played our game, we’d be okay and that’s what we did. We got a nice lead in the third quarter and I was glad to get everyone in the game.
“This is our first time ever to advance to the Region finals, so that should be a fun experience,” Martin added.
South Pittsburg, ending its season at 15-12, got 11 points from Kayla McMillan and nine from Raven Robinson. Anderson led CSAS with 16 points while Robyn Anthony finished with a dozen.
South Pittsburg won the rebound battle by a 44-34 margin as McMillan finished with 11 caroms. Shea Jones had eight. Kayla Kelly led CSAS rebounders with seven to go with nine points. Jamisha Featherstone and Latrice Wickley both grabbed five apiece for the Lady Patriots.
Copper Basin 13 9 9 10 7 -- 48
Grace 13 5 9 14 4 -- 45
COPPER BASIN (48) – Dena 9, Lindsey Cole 20, Stewart, Brittney Hyatt 12, Tranthom 3, Mealer 4, Payne.
GRACE (45) – Gordon 2, Patrick 9, Eldridge, Elleman 7, Kaylan Dilts 23, Hughes 4, Simpson, Darby, Bartley.
3-Point Goals: Copper Basin 5-8 (Dena, Cole 2, Hyatt, Trantham); Grace 2-13 (Dilts 2).
CSAS 11 18 19 7 -- 55
South Pittsburg 4 11 7 17 -- 39
ARTS & SCIENCES (55) – Robyn Anthony 12, Featherstone, Alexis Anderson 16, Wickley 7, Oldhom, Garner, Dillord, Clay, Kelly 9, Baumgardner, Woods, Rodriguez 3, Featherstone 8, McElvania.
SOUTH PITTSBURG (39) – Mitchell 5, Kayla McMillan 11, Brazelton, Reddicks 4, Jones 2, Robinson 9, Blevins 2, Jones 6, Griffith, York.
3-Point Goals: CSAS 4-14 (Anthony, Anderson, Kelly, Rodriguez); South Pittsburg 0-9.
Email John Hunt at Tnmoose2002@aol.com
photo by Greg Davick