Lady Hawks knock off Lebanon, return to 9-4A final

Feb. 21—COOKEVILLE — A year after upsetting Lebanon's girls in the District 9-4A semifinals, Green Hill's been-there-done-that Lady Hawks did it again, teaching the young Devilettes a lesson about tournament basketball in a 46-31 win Saturday afternoon.

Lebanon, with almost an entirely different team from past postseasons, led early before Green Hill came back. Kensley Carter's 3-pointer put the Lady Hawks ahead 7-6 as they built a 13-7 lead. A 3 by Tiffany Harrigan capped her seven-point period to draw the Devilettes within 13-10 at the first-quarter break.

The Devilettes were held to a single free throw in the second quarter while Green Hill built a 21-11 halftime lead.

"You can't put a price tag on experience," said Green Hill first-year coach Joseph Simmons, who was coaching Goodpasture at this time last year while Cherie Abner led the Lady Hawks to a surprise district championship. "That's where our seniors have got to be leaders, and they were today. And the young girls fed off of that. I did not look at one kid that got in the game today and look in her eyes and thought they were scared and timid. They were ready, had the fight in their eyes and it showed in the way that they played. It wasn't perfect, but they didn't let one mistake turn into two mistakes."

"Green Hill did a great job today," Lebanon coach Cory Barrett said. "We needed to be able to pressure them and turn them over and we didn't do that enough. They were able to slow us down and we weren't able to get out in transition like we need to. That put us behind the eight-ball.

"We hadn't been in that (postseason) situation. Hopefully, we're going to learn from that and come back ready to go Monday."

The quarter quarter was marred by a broken left arm sustained by Lady Hawk sophomore forward Julia Varpness during a battle for a rebound. She was taken from the gym and went to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville as her season came to a premature end. She underwent surgery Sunday morning and returned home that afternoon. She was expected to ride with the team to the game last night, Simmons said.

"You hate to see that from a kid who's a starter and has worked so hard, honorable mention all-district," Simmons said. "Her teammates rallied together and said 'we're not losing this for Julia. She plays too hard, is too important a part of our team'."

Back on the floor, Lebanon's woes continued in the third quarter as Green Hill opened a 34-18 lead behind eight points by Aubrey Blankenship, who hit all 11 of her free throws on her way to a game-high 25 points. Tiara Spencer sank two 3-pointers for the Devilettes during the stanza.

Lebanon finally made run early in the fourth as the Devilettes twice cut the margin to 10 points, the latter at 37-27. But Blankenship scored 11 of Green Hill's 12 points in the period as the Lady Hawks improved to 14-14 going into last night's championship game against host Cookeville, seeking a repeat upset of the top-seeded Lady Cavaliers in the final.

"Our girls came out, they were locked in defensively," Simmons said. "Offensively, I think we were a little rushed at the start of the game. But that's common when you're playing in the postseason for the first time this year. We talk about each possession is magnified. Turnovers are magnified. Execution on the defensive end is magnified. Everything is magnified. So I think butterflies were there at the start. But once we got settled in, our girls were focused and they knew what the game plan was. I couldn't be more proud of a group to execute a game plan."

But regardless of last night's outcome, Green Hill will play at home against either Station Camp or Hendersonville in the Region 5-4A first round Friday while 19-9 Lebanon, which faced Wilson Central for third place last night, will be on the road at either Gallatin or Beech with the Lady Wildcats at the other.

Carter connected for a pair of 3s for her six points while Sullie Gerik finished with five, Alyssa Potier four, Savannah Kirby a 3, Varpness a first-quarter 2 and Cameron Bryan a free throw.

Harrigan led Lebanon with 11 points while Spencer scored six, TK Hastings and Trinity Franzen five apiece and Rolandria Dowell and Shaunna Rowe two each.

Lady 'Cats head to consolationsCOOKEVILLE — Wilson Central led top-seeded and host Cookeville in the early going of Saturday's District 9-4A semifinal.

But the Lady Cavaliers eventually rolled to a 63-23 triumph and into last night's championship game with a 25-4 record.

For Wilson Central, the big thing was playing in the game, which was possible after the Lady Wildcats ousted visiting Mt. Juliet 42-30 the night before at WCHS, giving them three more games, including last night's third-place game against Lebanon and Friday's Region 5-4A opener at either Gallatin or Beech.

"We played hard for a quarter and then it got out of hand," Central coach Jason Knowles said of the semifinal in which the Lady Wildcats led 7-5 before the Lady Cavaliers began connecting on their shots. "I just went ahead and made sure we got a JV game in there the second half to not get anyone hurt for region or consolation game. Still a lot of basketball to be played and I'm thankful that we're still playing."

District Coach of the Year Jamie Gillies also sent in her reserves. So many Lady Cavaliers played that only one, Allie Gillies, reached double figures with 10 points, seven of which came in the third quarter.

Cloe Smith led the Lady Wildcats with eight first-half points, including five in the first quarter. Riley Mirghavami finished with five in the fourth, Alli McCullough four, Kendyle Pickett three, Kristen Smith two and Madeline Lee a free throw as Central slipped to 4-21.

Against Mt. Juliet, Central fell behind 8-6 in the first quarter before going into halftime tied 16-16. The Lady Wildcats opened a 22-17 lead going into the fourth as the Lady Bears' season ended at 9-21.

Cloe Smith scored all but two of her 16 points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter as she hit 8 of 10 free throws.

Kristen Smith sank four fourth-period foul shots on her way to nine points while Lillian Crutchfield collected six, McCullough and Jamey Ricketts four each and Pickett three.

Jai'Nyah Pillows led the Lady Bears with 10 points while Claire Emery scored seven, Jakoria Woods six, Adelyn Kendall five and Unity Jordan two.

"Kendyle Pickett showed up and played some great defense on Jakoria," Knowles said of Friday's game. "We got Cloe Smith back into scoring. We shot 70% from the free-throw line for the first time all year and really changed the game."

While the odds are stacked against the Lady Wildcats advancing deep into the regional, having three additional games and the week's worth of added practice time can be invaluable to a young team.

"We're treating it like that," Knowles said. "For this young crew and these seniors, they're laying a foundation for what we're trying to build here and build this program back to where it belongs at the top."

Watertown falls into 6-2A consolationsCARTHAGE — Watertown fell into the District 6-2A consolation contest with a 57-33 loss to top-seed Cannon County last Friday.

The Lady Lions led 13-6 at the first-quarter break and 28-15 at halftime as Watertown fell into last night's consolation game with a 12-14 record against host Smith County.

Win or lose, the Lady Purple Tigers will open Region 3-2A play at either Monterey or York Institute on Friday.

Anaston Holt hit three 3-pointers in leading the Lady Lions with 17 points while Isabella Pelham added 11.

Gwen Franklin led the Lady Tigers with 11 points while Claire Manos scored six, Macie Brejle five, Miranda Nix four, Izzie Burns and Madison King two apiece and Kierah Maklary, Presley Clark and Mallory Race a free throw each.