Emily Monson did her best but Blackman basketball eliminated in state tournament

There wasn't much that didn't go right for Blackman senior and Purdue signee Emily Monson during the the TSSAA Class 4A state girls basketball quarterfinal game against Cookeville Wednesday at MTSU's Murphy Center.

She was particularly red-hot in the closing minutes. But she left the court with one big regret.

"I got it. ... I should have shot it," said Monson, on passing up a potential game-winning shot with Blackman trailing by one in the closing seconds. Blackman ultimately missed a 3-pointer with about three seconds remaining and lost 53-51. "I passed it, but I should have shot it. We were trying to attack (the middle)."

Of course, Cookeville had Monson well covered at the end. Cookeville's Allie Gillies and Cassie Gallagher, who led the Lady Cavaliers with 22 points, were adamant that they didn't want Monson to get the last shot.

"We had an open look," said Blackman coach Jennifer Grandstaff, of the open 3-pointer that was taken at the end.

Monson was emotional while discussing the end of her Blackman career.

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And what a career it was. The 6-foot wing was a member of three consecutive state tournament teams that went 81-8 during her three years as a starter, including the 2021 Class AAA state title.

"I'm going to miss my team and coaches," said Monson, who finished with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. They're all like so for you and want you to do good. It's just a great group of people, so fun to be around."

As hot as Monson was, Blackman (31-3) had a hard time establishing consistent runs during the game. Cookeville hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter that put the Lady Blaze in comeback mode the rest of the half.

Then Blackman was assessed two technical fouls, including one in the first half on a player who removed her undershirt while on the bench, a TSSAA rule violation. The other came after a jump ball with seven minutes left in regulation and the game tied at 39.

"I thought it was huge," Grandstaff said. "We talked about that. ... talked about going in and keeping our composure. The one on the bench really threw me off. The mishap on the bench put us (coaches) all on the bench. It was so hard to hear anyway, especially when you're all sitting.

"In big games like that, you can't have things like that come back and get you. Did it change the game? No, but it surely didn't help us."

Junior Kaelyn Flowers added 15 points for Blackman. She will be taking the reigns from Monson as a team leader next season as the Lady Blaze try to make it four consecutive trips to the state tournament.

"Just the little things that need to get better," said Flowers, when asked what she and fellow underclassmen will take into next season. "It helps us in a way to key on those specific things and get better at those next season. (Wednesday) just came down to the little things that we (normally) did well throughout the season. Games like that, we can't miss opportunities like that."

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Blackman girls basketball eliminated in Class 4A state quarterfinals