McKenna Hayes was open in the corner and called for the ball. As someone who has scored more than 1000 points in her illustrious career, she had more than earned the right to call for the ball. When her guard dished it off, Hayes was ready to let it fly. And to nobody’s surprise, Hayes’ shot was dead-on, and she celebrated by roaring at her teammates and smacking her hands together.
It was a fun night to be a Hurricane because plays like that were commonplace.
East Hamilton’s girls secured the 6-AAA district title over Signal Mountain 50-38, and now move on to the regional playoffs.
“We finally got to cut down the nets after this game,” an excited Hayes said. “I’ve always been the one to hype up the team no matter what.”
Signal Mountain’s Janie Kennedy started off the game with a smooth midrange-jumper from the top of the free throw line, but the half was dominated by East Hamilton’s pair of Suttons. The smaller of the two, Amya, was cat-quick, and used those sharp cuts to get to the rim. On one early attack, she drove to her left, flipped up a rainbow shot with her right, and splashed it.
Her true impact was on defense though, where she pestered Signal’s guards and throttled their dribble-drive attacks. Alongside Christal Collins, the two were impassable with a live dribble. The other Sutton, Tristin, was just as important from the forward position and teamed up with Sutton on a high-post pass for a layup.
“When we play like that, we’re so tough, and I’m super excited for Christal and Amya,” coach Kayla Burse said. “But the work doesn’t stop here.”
Morgan Bone was a spark for the Hurricanes, and she used several different avenues to score seven straight for East Hamilton in the first half. Her first bucket was a regular two-pointer, and then she relocated to the corner for a three on the next possession.
A few seconds before the first-quarter buzzer, Bone laid in the ball to give East Ham a 16-8 advantage. It took a few minutes for either team to score in the second quarter, but once Ashyly Rock notched a middy from the post, scoring picked up and both teams had their fair share of highlights. East Hamilton seemed to always stay a step ahead though and went into halftime up 26-15.
Carlee Lowry and the rest of the Eagles never stopped diving for loose balls or playing hard-nosed defense, but East Hamilton just seemed to always have an answer for whatever the Eagles could do. Cassidy Pawson was spectacular under the rim, and the Eagles cut it to six in the fourth quarter. But East Hamilton put their foot back on the throat and came away with their first district title in a decade.
“We knew we had to get this win, and knew tonight was for us,” Hayes said. “We were all a little bit nervous, but we needed to feel that nervousness to get us going.”
East Hamilton will play at home Friday against Lenoir City in a Region 3-AAA first round contest, while Signal Mountain entertains South Doyle.
East Hamilton boys 60, Red Bank 56: Ashton Munson got the clean strip and clutched the ball for just a second before he burst downcourt. There was a possible outlet to his left, but with 17 points already to his credit in the half, there was no reason for him to pass. Munson fended off one defender, took one more strong step, and scooped the ball into the hoop as time expired.
Of East Hamilton’s 32 first half points, Munson had almost two-thirds. Red Bank made the home team sweat it out, but after 32 minutes of hard fouls, great shotmaking, and bigtime plays by bigtime players, the Hurricane boys completed the championship sweep of the district titles. The Hurricanes triumphed 60-56.
“I know what I have to do to get my team going and get us hyped,” Munson, who ended with 26 points, said. “When our energy is sky-high, it’s just easier from there on out.”
Munson scored in every manner imaginable: tough pullups, tougher layups, and from behind the arc. While the point guard did most of the heavy lifting on offense, he was complemented by bigs Cade Pendleton and Zachariah Laboo. Pendleton connected on a three in the second quarter, and Laboo utilized sharp footwork to maneuver in the paint for a layup too.
Red Bank has a trio of fantastic guards in Nick Smith, Haden Spurgeon, and Reco Trimble. Spurgeon carved through the Hurricane’s bigs for a pair of stretchy layups midway through the second quarter, but after a 16-point first quarter where Eric Alex popped free for jumpers, the Lions struggled to put the ball in the cup.
The second half was originally a continuation of the first, where East Hamilton enjoyed a comfortable but not overwhelming 10-point lead. But slowly enough, the Lions began to chip away at this deficit.
Spurgeon and Smith led the efforts. The 6-9 Pendleton is a threatening shotblocker and did get his fair share of swipes (and at least twice as many affected shots), but Spurgeon seemed to have a knack for making shots against the rim protector. On multiple occasions, Spurgeon would drive to one side, stop, pivot/spin around Pendleton, and then hit the short jumper.
Both Smith and Spurgeon benefited from some puzzling transition defense by the Hurricanes, leaking out for easy layups after the Hurricanes overcommitted to the offensive glass. But in the end, the Hurricanes obsession with controlling the boards ended up benefiting them.
Red Bank cut the lead to 60-56 and then played the foul game. East Hamilton proceeded to miss six straight free throws under their own roof…………but grabbed an offensive board every two shots and burned the clock. When Red Bank’s last three pointer did not go in, East Hamilton dribbled out the clock and clinched the district.
“It feels amazing to win, because this is my first district championship,” Munson said. “I know my seniors are happy, and I was doing it for the seniors.”
The Hurricanes will host Austin East in a first round Region 3-AAA game on Saturday, while Red Bank is at home against Sequoyah.
GIRLS SUMMARY
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN 08 07 09 14 – 38
EAST HAMILTON 16 10 12 12 – 50
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN (38) – Clark 4, Kennedy 2, Cassidy Pawson 9, Carlee Pawson 6, Rock 4, Hanson 5, McKindree 8
EAST HAMILTON (50) – Tristin Sutton 12, Collins 4, McGhee 8, McKenna Hayes 11, Bone 9, Amya Sutton 6
3-POINT GOALS: Signal Mountain 0 (N/A); East Hamilton 2 (Hayes 1, Bone 1)
BOYS SUMMARY
RED BANK 16 04 17 19 – 56
EAST HAMILTON 15 17 15 13 – 60
RED BANK (56) – Trimble 5, Haden Spurgeon 20, Nick Smith 16, Eric Alex 15, Lloyd, Sewell, Salazar, Bates
EAST HAMILTON (60) – Harris 8, Flemmons 2, Bullard 5, Cade Pendleton 10, Mason 2, Ashton Munson 26, Long 2, Laboo 5
3-POINT GOALS: Red Bank 7 (Alex 2, Spurgeon 2, Smith 2, Trimble 1); East Hamilton 5 (Harris 2, Pendleton 2, Munson 1)
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