The Macon County Tigerettes advanced to the final four of the TSSAA BlueCross AA State Basketball Tournament with a 49-34 win over the Covington Lady Chargers on Thursday at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro.
The Tigerettes’ patented defense forced 21 turnovers as Macon County pulled away in the second half to advance in the tournament.
“Everybody on the floor played really, really well,” said MCHS head coach Larry White. “We might not be the deepest team in this state, but we feel real good about what we have.”
The Lady Chargers opened the game with two straight three pointers, but MTSU signee Jalynn Gregory, who was playing on her future home court, scored the nine opening points for the Tigerettes to give them a 9-8 lead.
“(Gregory) is a steadying force for our team,” said White. “They all have a lot of respect for her.”
The teams then traded baskets with Covington’s Kalynn Howard burying a three and giving CHS a 15-13 lead at the end of the first.
The Tigerettes then made a key defensive change, moving into a full-court press. The switch forced several turnovers as the Lady Chargers struggled to find a counter.
“The critical point in the game… was when we changed to man,” said White. “Everybody just raised their level of play.”
Howard scored all five Covington points in the second quarter, but the Tigerettes ended the frame on a 7-0 run to take a 22-20 lead into halftime.
The Macon County defense continued to be effective in the third quarter, as they held CHS scoreless through the opening 6:12 of the frame. Saranda Woodson made a layup in the final seconds to give the Tigerettes a 34-25 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Woodson scored the first five MCHS points in the fourth quarter as the lead moved to 39-27. Taylor Ward then made two baskets and forced a turnover to make it 45-27 and put the game away as Macon County rolled to the 49-34 win.
Gregory led the way with 21 points and four steals. Woodson added 12 and seven rebounds while also taking several key charges on the defensive end. Ward scored 10 and Abby Shoulders tallied six.
This is the Tigerettes fifth straight trip to the state tournament, and fourth consecutive trip to the semifinal round (the 2020 tournament was cancelled during the semifinal round due to COVID-19).
White made clear his team’s goal is to bring a Gold Ball to Lafayette for the first time.
“We only came over here for one reason,” said White. “We want that gold ball.”
The Tigerettes will return to the Murphy Center floor on Friday at 4 p.m. when they take on the winner of Northview Academy vs Creekwood.
Photos by Noah McKay:
