CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Bradley Central wanted to extend its home-court winning streak and take a crack at their 40th region tournament championship on Monday night.
East Hamilton sought a win that would provide the Lady Hurricanes with another chance to snap a 0-for-series skid against the Bearettes and move a step closer to possibly winning a Sectional game for the first time.
The Bearettes accomplished its goals for the night.
The Lady Canes’ hopes went up in smoke.
Bradley Central (29-3) used a 7-2 third-quarter run to open an 18-point cushion and routed Cookeville (22-11) by 55-38 victory in the Region 3-3A semifinals at Jim Smiddy Arena and will take a 31-game home winning streak in the title game on Wednesday at 7 p.m., again at Bradley Central. It was the Bearettes’ ninth straight win since losing to Stone Memorial, 54-44, on Jan. 19.
Rock-steady juniors Jamaryn Blair and Anna Walker combined for 29 points on 9-of-24 shooting, giving the Lady Cavaliers more headaches than they could handle.
“(Cookeville) kept trying to face-guard us, but we were able to see the right people to get the ball to,” Walker said. “We weren’t shooting that well and we had to rely on our defense to win this ballgame.”
The Lady Panthers (23-5) provide the title game opposition after rocking the foul-plagued Lady Hurricanes, 60-39, in Monday’s second semifinal. Stone Memorial had a 21-22 halftime lead and East Hamilton (had three starters – Madison Hayes, DeZah Lacy and Eliziah Laboo – with three fouls.
All three of those players, plus Mya Patton, later fouled out, but Hayes still managed a double-double with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. The junior, who played in front of Georgia and South Carolina coaches, played 24 minutes and missed the last 6 minutes of the first half after scoring the team’s first 10 points.
“The fouls were frustrating,” said a visibly dejected Hayes.
Hayes made 3-of-5 shots and was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the first half. However, she went 3-for-11 in the second half and was not a factor as the taller Lady Panthers – they had three 6-footers in the lineup – pulled away for the easy win.
Stone Memorial and Bradley Central will decide the championship at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Both teams are secured spots in the Sectionals on Saturday, but the loser will play the Region 4-3A champion, most likely Riverdale, and that has proved to be an almost insurmountable challenge in recent years.
Cookeville’s 38 points, far from the season-low of nine Soddy-Daisy managed against the Bearettes on Feb. 1, was something coach Jason Reuter could live with.
“As I’ve said before, we hang our hats on defense and I’ll take 38 points every time out,” he said. “If we can’t score 39 points, we don’t deserve to win.”
The Lady Cavs were held to 30.8 percent shooting and turned the ball over 22 times – KK Graver had seven. Graver scored a team-high 17 points. The Bearettes, appearing in their 35th region tournament and 60th in the last 61, scored 23 points off Cookeville miscues, had a 22-14 edge scoring in the paint and when the situation presented itself, got 13 points on fast-breaks.
Cookeville out-rebounded Bradley, 35-27, and Chloe Grace Savage pulled down a game-high 11. Lombard, a guard, led the Bearettes with eight before fouling out.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first period, but the Bearettes scored eight straight points – the last four by Jamia Williams, her only points in the game – and opened a 17-4 lead. Blair’s 3 from the right-wing with 3 seconds left in the quarter pushed Bradley’s lead to 28-15.
The third period proved to be decisive for the Bearettes. Blair and Lombard each made layups and Walker hit a jumper while being shoved by Savage and added a free-throw for the three-point play. That scoring burst pushed Bradley’s lead to 35-17. Graver’s layup interrupted the Bearettes’ spree.
“Defense can win you championships,” Blair said. “They wanted to play physical and we responded and matched them and our defense was really good. We have to keep pushing now and play tough in the championship game. It’s a privilege to get that far and we’re going to try our best and win the game.”
Bradley extended a 41-24 lead after three quarters to 21 points after a Walker free throw and two Blair free throws. Cookeville scored seven of the next nine points and still trailed by 47-31. The Bearettes cruised home for the victory.
“This wasn’t the prettiest game I’ve seen this year,” Reuter said, “but our defense was outstanding and Cookeville struggled to get anything offensively.”
The 38 points is Cookeville’s second-lowest output of the season. It scored 35 points in a 15-point loss to Lebanon in the season opener.
Stone Memorial had a distinct advantage when the starting lineups were introduced. Among the first five were 6-foot-3 Tessa Miller, 6-2 Emma Capps and 6-1 Emily Boyd. Hayes, East Hamilton’s best player is 6-1 but found the going rough inside most of the game.
“They’re height changed things,” Hayes said.
However, Hayes, one of Tennessee’s most highly recruited players, scored the team’s first 10 points and the Lady Canes trailed by a point. Anaya Evans then hit a 3 from the left corner with 0.6 seconds left in the opening period and the Lady Panthers were up 13-11.
Capps, with Hayes flying at her, right arm extended, knocked down a 3 to open the second period.
Forty-three seconds later Hayes picked up her third foul and went to the bench and didn’t return until the third quarter began. Just over a minute later Lacy joined Hayes on the sideline with three fouls. Laboo picked up her third foul with 4 minutes left in the period but stayed on the floor.
“Stone is a really good team and the 19-0 run was the difference in the game,” East Hamilton coach Hunter Gremore said.
Laboo’s layup tied the game at 22-22 late in the period. The Lady Panthers scored the last nine points and stretched the game-changing run to 19 straight points midway through the third. Laboo finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
Lacy had nine turnovers and Madison Hayes had five.
With a patchwork lineup on the court, Gremore went to a zone defense only to have the Lady Panthers continue to put the game out of reach.
“We came out in the second half really flat and they extended the lead,” Gremore said. “We fought to the end and I’m pleased with that. They are big and could make you take different shots. And they out-rebounded us.”
McKenna Hayes, a freshman, was being scouted by Tennessee-Chattanooga and was held scoreless, missing all nine shots. She was 2-for-4 at the free-throw line.
Capps scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Stone Memorial. Alex Eldridge also scored 15 points and Miller added 11 points, six rebounds and four steals. She made six of the team’s 17 turnovers.
East Hamilton ends its season with a 21-13 record, two wins shy of its fifth appearance in the Sectional round where the Lady Canes are 0-4. They are 1-1against Stone Memorial, beating the Lady Panthers by 67-62 in last year’s region semifinals. The Lady Canes lost to Bradley Central and Riverdale in their final two games.
The boys’ semifinals are scheduled Tuesday night at Cleveland High School.
The Blue Raiders (26-4), riding an 18-game winning streak, play White County (23-8) at 6 p.m. East Hamilton (22-8) takes on Stone Memorial (22-6) at 7:45 p.m. White County eliminated Bradley Central (18-11) by 53-50 on Monday night in Sparta in a weather-delayed quarterfinal.
Scoring Summaries
Cookeville 4 11 9 14 – 38
Bradley Central 9 19 13 14 – 55
Cookeville (38) – Shipman, J. Dunaway, Surles, Savage 8, KK Graver 17, K. Dunaway, Webb 2, Shope, Love 4, Cunningham 7.
Bradley Central (55) – Hughes 6, Roberts, Jamaryn Blair 17, Anna Walker 12, Lombard 9, Reuter, Mayo 4, Barnes 2, Williams 5.
3-Point Goals – Cookeville 4 (Savage 1, Graver 1, Love 1, Cunningham 1), Bradley Central 5 (Blair 2, Hughes 1, Walker 1, Mayo 1).
East Hamilton 13 9 4 13 – 39
Stone Memorial 11 20 18 11 – 60
East Hamilton (39) – Patton, Lacy 2, Madison Hayes 21, Mc. Hayes 2, Laboo 8, Petitt 3, Evans 3, Sue, Johnson, Copeland.
Stone Memorial (60) – Alex Eldridge 15, Buck 7, Tessa Miller 11, Emma Capps 15, Boyd 6, Goss 6, Roark, Adkisson.
3-Point Goals – East Hamilton 2 (Pettit 1, Evans 1), Stone Memorial 5 (Capps 3, Miller 1, Goss 1).
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)