DUANE SHERRILLEditor

The Lady ‘Cats were ushered out of the TSSAA tournament Monday night as the Upperman Lady Bees stopped Tullahoma in the second round of the regional playoffs 52-38 at Hooper Eblen Center on the campus of Tennessee Tech.

The neutral site game ended up being more of a home game for the girls from Baxter as the Bee Section was packed with Upperman fans as they cheered on their squad that had only lost three games all season. However, they were countered by a smaller but equally loud Wildcat section filled with fans who made the 90-minute drive from Tullahoma.

At first, Lady ‘Cat fans were in high hopes as Tullahoma jumped out to a 5-0 lead with the help of Lily Melton’s hot hand as she led her team with five points in the first period. However, Upperman landed a counterpunch and went on an 8-0 run, marking the last time Tullahoma would hold the lead on the night. Upperman led 14-7 after one. Spurring them on was Abigail Johnson who led all scorers with 23. Her work on the glass was especially damaging as she collected numerous rebounds and was a frequent flier at the free throw line where she went 9-for-12 on the evening.

Tullahoma was able to counter in the second quarter, outscoring the Baxter girls 12-9 thanks to big 3s from McLayne Bobo and Morgan Carr. Nyjah Gibbs slashed through the lane for a deuce and a pair of free throws while Lily Melton also hit a pair from the charity stripe to send her team to the locker room down 23-19.

The Lady ‘Cats threatened several times in the third and were able to slightly cut into the Upperman lead thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Carr and a deuce for Gibbs.

The Lady ‘Cats were poised for a chance to take the lead in the forth as they trailed just 31-28 going into the fourth. However, Johnson took possession of the glass again and scored nine fourth quarter points and was joined by Bella Mullins who was six-for-eight from the line. Fults and Melton hit 3s while Bobo and Carr added two apiece in the fourth but their contributions were not enough to keep pace with Upperman which outscored them 21-10 in the final frame to advance to the finals of the region tournament Wednesday night while sending the Lady ‘Cats home for the season after an 18-12 campaign. Upperman will face Livingston Academy for the region title Wednesday night, Livingston being responsible for one of the Lady Bee’s three losses in their 30-3 season. Livingston nipped Lincoln County 40-39 Monday night. Lincoln slipped by Tullahoma for the district title last week.

The Lady ‘Cats earned their way to Cookeville and the second round of the region tournament by slipping past Cumberland County in overtime 55-49, winning the game from the foul line as the seconds drained away.

Much of the overtime period was spent at the charity stripe as Tullahoma went 10-for-13 from the line. McLayne Bobo was a perfect six-for-six from the stripe as she posted her second straight 18 point showing, canning two 3-pointers on the night. She trailed only Lily Melton in the scoring category as Melton posted 20 in the win as the Lady ‘Cats outscored the Lady Jets 12-6 in the extra frame.

The game was close throughout as the teams finished tied at 13 after one. Melton led the way with a triple and deuce while Lucy Nutt scored four of her night-total six in the opening frame. Bobo and Morgan Carr both added two from the stripe during the opening period, the accuracy setting the table for Bobo to go a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line during the region opener.

For the visitors, the Lady Jets boasted eight from Jalyan Baldwin and five from Emery Baragona in the opening period. The pair combined for 40 of their team’s 49 total points during the evening.

The second saw the Lady ‘Cats take a slight advantage, outscoring their visitors 14-11 thanks to a hot quarter from Melton who had nine in the second. Bobo added a triple and Alivia Bowen a two. Only Baragona had anything to brag about for the Lady Jets as she posted seven in the second.

Coming out of the locker room with a 27-24 lead, Tullahoma held even in the third with both teams scoring 10. Bobo was the main show, getting five while Bowen added a 3-pointer and Nutt a deuce. For the Lady Jets, Baldwin did all the heavy lifting in the third, going eight-for-1o from the free throw line.

Cumberland County was able to deadlock the game in the fourth as they outscored Tullahoma 9-6 as only Melton with five and Bobo with a pair of free throws was able to score, sending the game knotted at 43 into overtime.