Savanna McClain leads Wayne County girls basketball past Dresden, into Class 1A state title game
MURFREESBORO — Wayne County girls basketball controlled things from the outset and rolled to a 76-55 win over Dresden in the TSSAA Class 1A state semifinals at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center Friday.
The Lady Wildcats (35-4) will play in the state championship game Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against the Gleason-McKenzie winner. It will be the seventh state title game for Wayne County, which will be going for its third championship (2001, 2011).
Savanna McClain scored 24 points, 15 in the first half, to pace Wayne County. Lauren Bryant added 17 points and Blair Baugus scored 14.
"I think the flow of the game was good," said McClain, who was 2-for-2 from 3-point range and 12-of-12 from the free throw line. "I was just taking open shots My teammates are the reason I could take those shots. They would drive in and leave me open."
Lucy Curry had a big game for Dresden (24-10), scoring a game-high 29 points with four assists.
Wayne County led the entire game, jumping out 10-3 early and taking a 20-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. Savanna McClain scored six of those points.
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The Lady Wildcats extended the lead to 26-8 early in the second before taking a 34-18 halftime advantage.
Dresden got it as close as 44-33 near the end of the third but a 5-0 Wayne County run all but sealed things.
"They kind of punched us in the mouth at the start," said Dresden coach Jonathan West, whose squad went 7-14 last season. "It got us on our heels. We were constantly trying to play catch-up. Every time we would get in striking distance, they would make the play they had to. Give them credit."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Wayne County girls basketball reaches TSSAA 1A state championship game
