By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
CENTRE – The Sand Rock Lady Wildcats spent their week without playing a basketball game due to wintry weather going over end-of-game and tight-game situations.
It’s almost as if head coach Lisa Bates knew things were going to go down to the wire with Cherokee County in the semifinals of the Cherokee County Tournament on Friday at Richard Lindsey Arena in Centre.
Behind a solid defensive effort that held the Lady Warriors to just eight made baskets the entire game, Sand Rock was able to eke out a 39-34 victory that sends them to Saturday’s title game against top-seeded Spring Garden at 5:30 p.m.
“I can’t be prouder of them than that,” Bates said. “I think all of those close games have been helping us get ready for games like this. Much credit to Centre. We knew they were a good team. They’re fast. They have more speed than we do, so we knew we had to play a little differently than we usually do. They’re a good team and I’m proud we got this win today.”
Much like she has been all season, senior shooting guard Kaitlyn St.Clair led the Lady Wildcats (17-6) with 19 points, including three 3-pointers, and five rebounds. She helped seal the win by making 3-of-4 free throws in the game’s final minute.
Prior to that, Sand Rock was aided by a 7-0 run to begin the fourth quarter, which included a St.Clair trey that gave the Lady Wildcats a 34-25 advantage.
Cherokee County (18-4) countered with a 9-2 run which ended with a Mary Hayes Johnson 3-pointer that trimmed Sand Rock’s lead to 36-34 with less than two minutes remaining.
But the Lady Wildcats dug their heels in and held on the rest of the way.
“Thank goodness we had a little cushion because they came back on us a little bit,” Bates said. “We hit a few free throws that made a difference.”
Zoey Handy and Chloe Stephens both netted six points for Sand Rock. Handy also had eight rebounds, two steals and an assist. Stephens had three rebounds and a steal.
Johnson led the Lady Warriors with 16 points, including a pair of treys. Audrey Haygood finished with six points.
Spring Garden 65, Cedar Bluff 32
CENTRE – Chloe Rule netted 19 points and Ace Austin scored 13 in the first half to lead top-seeded Spring Garden to a 65-32 victory over Cedar Bluff in the Cherokee County Girls Varsity Basketball Tournament on Friday.
The win secured a spot in Saturday’s championship game, where they Lady Panthers (22-1) will meet Sand Rock at 5:30 p.m.
Olivia Law added 11 points for Spring Garden. Libby Brown and Maggie Jarrett both finished with eight points.
Kylie Vadon topped the Lady Tigers with 11 points. Hayden Cannon came away with eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Caley Bruce finished with seven points.
Behind its smothering defense, the Lady Panthers jumped out to a 29-3 lead in the first quarter. Spring Garden held a 43-15 advantage at halftime and a 60-24 edge after three quarters.
