1-A Girls: Lady ’Landers withstand Unaka; Hampton tops NG

By Tim Chambers

GRAY — Cloudland dodged Unaka’s bullet and Hampton delivered one to North Greene in the District 1-A girls semifinals at Daniel Boone High School on Saturday.

It took overtime for the fifth-ranked Lady Highlanders to win 61-55 while Hampton prevailed 44-38.

The two winners will play for the championship tonight at 7:30. The Lady Rangers and Huskies will meet at in the consolation game.

Somehow, the Lady Highlanders found a way to survive their frigid 0-of-19 shooting from behind the three-point arc and 19- of-34 showing from the foul line.

Cloudland had Unaka on the ropes in the first half and was on the verge over blowing the game wide open. It led 17-10 after one and took a 25-15 lead on back-to-back baskets by Brooke Rhodes and Courtney Clarke.

“Our kids played hard. We just couldn’t knock down shot the ones we normally make,” said Cloudland’s Matt Birchfield. “We had some good looks, but we just couldn’t make them. Fortunately for us, Brooke had a big game, but missing easy shots and free throws will cost you and it almost did us.

“We expected to get Unaka’s best because we have two of their former coaches on our bench, so we know they want to beat us. I proud of our kids for not folding – they hung in there and found a way to win.”

Unaka’s sensational junior point guard Alicia Colbaugh wasn’t about to let her team go down without a fight. Her eight points, including two long treys, kept the Rangers within six at intermission.

And her stellar play continued in the second half.

Unaka started the third quarter on a 13-2 run. A three-ball by Brittany Lawson and Brandi Ensor’s jumper broke a 29-all tie and put the team in front 34-29 at the 2:20 mark.

Cloudland got last baskets by Rhodes and Bethany Chambers to tie the score at 35-35 heading into the fourth quarter. That frame would end with nothing being decided.

Colbaugh kept performing surgery on Cloudland’s defense. She knifed her way for seven points in the final quarter after firing in another two treys during the third. When she wasn’t scoring, Ensor was. The sophomore post player ended the night with a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds), including three baskets in the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately, the Rangers had no answer to stopping Rhodes. She finished the period with seven points, including a turnaround jumper that tied the score at 45-45 with 2:37 remaining.

Summer Hughes broke a 47-47 tie by hitting 1-of-2 free throws with 48 seconds remaining. Colbaugh duplicated that feat with :09 showing.

The Highlanders missed a game-winning 12-foot runner at the end of regulation. They wouldn’t misfire on many during the overtime period.

Clarke and Hughes hit back-to-back baskets, giving Cloudland a 52-48 lead in the extra frame. Colbaugh got it back to one with a trifecta, but the buck would stop there.

Rhodes provided a three-point play that pushed it back to four. She, Hughes and Clarke added key free throws down the stretch to stave off the upset-minded Lady Rangers.

Rhodes dazzled the crowd with a game-high 29 points, 20 rebounds and five blocked shots. Clarke and Hughes added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Courtney Wilson grabbed 10 boards in addition to scoring six points.

“We knew this was going to be a close game because it’s hard to beat a good team three times,” said Rhodes. “We couldn’t get our outside shots to fall and we missed a lot of free throws. We had to battle through that, but fortunately we were able to hang on and win down the stretch. Unaka played a really good game.”

Unaka head coach Wes Wright was proud of his team’s effort despite the loss. Their previous two defeats (vs. Cloudland) had been by double-digits.

“We shot well in the first half, but we gave them too many offensive boards,” said Wright. “I thought we did a much better job in the second half of limiting that. Rhodes is a great player – she hit some big shots late in the game – but I’m proud of our kids. They battled them for 36 minutes and didn’t back down. I’m not disappointed with the outcome for our effort. We’re going to the regional; now it’s just a battle for position. If we can play with the intensity we’ve played with the last two games, we can beat anybody in the region.”

Colbaugh amassed 25 points to pace the Rangers, along with Ensor’s double-double. Brittany Lawson tallied six. Kassie Winters had five first-quarter points, but was held scoreless after that.

“This game gave us a lot of confidence in ourselves,” said Colbaugh. “We know we can play with these teams if we set our mind to it. We wanted to shut down Rhodes, Clarke and Hughes and try to make the other ones beat us. We knew Rhodes would get her points, but I thought we did a good job on the others. We’ll come back ready to win on Monday and hopefully get to play them again. Maybe we’ll be the team with the high score next time.”

 

Hampton 44

North Greene 38

Unlike the first semifinal game, where offense was the kingpin, it was defense that ruled the roost.

Hampton fell behind 11-9 after one but managed to tie the game at 13-13 despite scoring only four points in the second quarter.

Lady Bulldogs head coach Leon Trolley felt like both squads knew pretty much what each wanted to do. He stated that sometimes turns the game into an ugly contest.

“We both know each other well and defend each other well, so it makes it an ugly ball game,” said Tolley. “It certainly was ugly. I told our team to score only 13 points in a half and be tied proved that we were doing something right on one end of the floor. We’re happy that we were able to finally make a few shots in the second half.”

The Dogs shot 2-of-11 in the second quarter. North Greene fared worse at 1-of-9.

Halftime adjustments were made and play picked up during the second half.

Baskets from Dorothy Dugger, Paige Montgomery and Danielle Guinn helped Hampton build a 21-17 advantage at the 6:02 mark.

Dugger’s second trey in the quarter gave them the Lady Bulldogs their largest lead of the game at 24-17 less than a minute later.

From that point, North Greene closed the quarter on a 13-3 run. Seven points apiece from Daraine Bailey and Laiken Morrow in the frame allowed the Lady Huskies to surge in front 30-27 after three.

“I didn’t take a timeout because they’re no secrets with us,” said Tolley. “It’s just a matter of who makes shots. We put a few new wrinkles in and so did they. We just happened to hit a few more than they did.”

North Greene might have been toast had it not been for the charity stripe. The squad hit only eight shots from the field, but went 20-of-26 from the foul line.

The Huskies were in front 35-32 before Danielle Guinn banked in a three-point shot to tie the score at 35.

Dugger’s three-pointer with 2:39 remaining put Hampton in front to stay at 38-35. Down the stretch, the ‘Dogs would add some key free throws. Dugger would ring up 5-of-6 while Haley Trusler was a perfect 2-for-2, sending Hampton into the title game.

Dugger’s game-high 17 points topped the Lady Bulldogs’ scoring. Guinn added 11 and Montgomery seven.

Morrow led the Huskies with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Bailey added 12 points to the cause.

Tolley praised his team for holding on down the stretch.

“I’m proud of them,” said Tolley. “They knew what was on the line. This keeps us opposite of Cloudland in the regional. The game could have gone either way.”