DUANE SHERRILLEditor

Taking the lead into the locker room at the half, a third quarter swoon by the Lady ‘Cats left them six points short of a district championship as they fell in Lawrenceburg to Lincoln County 50-44.

Their loss came after a career night by McLayne Bobo where she made not one, not two, not three, not four, but five 3-pointers on her way to leading the Tullahoma squad in the district title game with 18 points.

The Lady ‘Cats had to dig themselves out of an early hole against the Lady Falcons as they were outscored 11-5 in the first. Tullahoma and Lincoln had split games earlier this season after the Lady Falcons had ruled the district for most of the season. Tullahoma won their last meeting just one week prior 50-44, the exact same score of the district championship game Monday night.

Bobo began her 3-point barrage in the first with a long range triple while Lily Melton added a deuce. However, Abby Bryan single-handedly outscored Tullahoma in the first as she went for seven on her way to lead all scorers with 19 on the night.

Tullahoma turned it in on the second, scoring 17 points. Bobo had five, Morgan Carr two and Alivia Bowen a single but the leader of the pack for the Lady ‘Cats was Lily Melton who was a sharpshooter from the foul line, going six-for-six in the second while she also added a triple. She finished with 13 on the night.

The quarter was enough to reverse fortunes for Tullahoma as they went to the locker room up 22-19. However, the third was not kind for the Lady Wildcats as they could on muster a Bobo 3-pointer. Bryan and Molly Brown combined for nine of the Lady Falcons to give the top-seeded Lincoln County team a 32-25 lead going into the home stretch.

Tullahoma was able to mount a counterstrike against Lincoln in the fourth as they had their biggest offensive quarter of the night with 19. Bobo hit her final two 3-pointers from beyond the arc and added a single for a total of seven in the fourth while Carr also contributed a three. Melton and Lucy Nutt were both a perfect two-for-two for the stripe but the damage of the third period’s offensive malaise could not be overcome as Brown buried a pair of 3s while Bryan had a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to cement the victory and the district championship.

After hoisting the second place trophy, Lady ‘Cats Nutt, Carr and Nyjah Gibbs were named All-District players while Melton and Bobo were named All-Tournament. The Lady ‘Cats will play host to the winner of the Cumberland County versus White County game which was played after press time Tuesday. Should Tullahoma win Friday they would move on to play the next round at Tennessee Tech arena in Cookeville next Monday. Friday night’s game tips at 7 p.m.

The semi-final game that catapulted the Lady ‘Cats into the finals saw Tullahoma rally from an early deficit to nip Lawrence County 43-41.

The Lady ‘Cats trailed 7-5 after one with a Morgan Carr 3-ball and a field goal from Lily Melton constituting all of their early scoring. However, a rally in the second saw them outscore their hosts 11-5and take a 16-13 lead into the locker room. Nyjah Gibbs did the honors with four points while Eleanor Fults rained down a 3-pointer during the run. Lucy Nutt and Melton also added deuces to the cause.

The Lady ‘Cat lead was erased in the third as Lawrence’s Katy Criswell had eight points. Melton led Tullahoma with five while Gibbs hit a long ball as Tullahoma trailed by one going into the fourth.

Emmy Clark made things interesting for the hosts as she popped a pair of shots from beyond the arc. However, Melton’s seven and long balls from Fults and Alivia Bowen and deuce and single from Nutt were enough to put the Lady Wildcats through to the finals Monday night in Lawrenceburg.