Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The Upperman Lady Bees pushed their record to 2-0 with a 53-45 win over Middle Tennessee Christian on Tuesday night.
The game got off to a slow, defensive start, as the Lady Bees took a 10-9 lead into the second quarter. MTCS managed to get their offense going a little in the second frame, and it led to a 25-22 advantage heading into the halftime locker room.
After trimming the lead down to one point in the third, the Lady Bees offense took off in the fourth quarter, as they outscored MTCS 18-9 to take home the eight-point victory.
“I feel really good about (this win), Middle Tennessee Christian is a great team,” said UHS head coach Dana McWilliams. “I thought we struggled with some things early, and what I saw was that we stayed focused and stayed together as a team, and it was a really good team win.”
The Lady Bees passed their first big test of the season with their win over MTCS, and it was with flying colors as this team with new players a many different positions now finds themselves at 2-0 early in the season.
“Any win, you’re excited to get them, but we knew for sure that this was a tough one to start the season with,” McWilliams said. “I think it’ll be good for us. We know we’ve got a lot of things to fix and work out, but I’m really proud of them.”
Brooklyn Crouch led the way with a game-high 21 points, while Abigail Johnson added 19 points on 7-10 shooting from the floor.
The Bees followed up the girls’ win with a solid one of their own, as they took down the visitors 57-46.
This game saw another slow defensive start, as MTCS took a 14-7 point lead into the second quarter. The Bees cut into the lead multiple times throughout the frame, and took a 22-21 lead into the halftime break on the strength of a Rex Davis buzzer-beater.
The third quarter proved to be a major difference-maker in the game, as the Bees outscored MTCS 15-8 to take an eight-point lead into the final frame. There, Upperman used solid defense and timely scoring to take home the win in their home opener.
“We took care of the basketball for the most part, but we defended the right part and our defensive rebounding was exceptional,” said UHS head coach Bobby McWilliams. “When we do that, we’re going to stay in the game and give ourselves a chance, but I’m just really happy for our guys.”
Davis ended the game with a game-high 20 points, while A.J. Nash added 18 points. Hayden Petty was the other Bee in double-figures with 14 points.
Upperman finds themselves in a good spot after this win, especially after considering they’ve only had six players in practice due to some players being on the football team.
“Our guys have trucked right along,” McWilliams said. “We’re learning on the fly, but they’re playing for each other and as a coach, that’s all you can ask for…they don’t care who gets it done as long as someone does. That’s what they’re doing right now.”
The teams will both be in action this week, as the girls will head to Lebanon and the boys will be in Woodbury.
