Coverage of the state tournament is presented by Legacy Athletics
MURFREESBORO – The Cookeville Lady Cavs season came to an end in a 65-53 loss against Farragut in the semifinal round of the TSSAA Class AAAA Girls’ Basketball State Tournament on Friday at the Murphy Center.
CHS was unable to overcome a slow start and 35% shooting as the most successful season in school history came to an end.
“It’s tough,” said CHS head coach Jamie Gillies. “I don’t know that I’ll ever have another team like this.”
The Lady Cavaliers struggled from the field early in the first quarter, and the FHS offense made several shots as they raced out to an 11-2 lead. Chay Cunningham made a three and Cassie Gallagher made a layup to cut the deficit to 13-9, but FHS star Avery Strickland made a three as the Lady Admirals led 18-9 after one.
Jordan Gillies and Gallagher each made threes early in the second to make it 20-17. The teams then traded baskets throughout the frame as the Lady Admirals took a 32-28 lead into halftime.
Both offenses slowed in the third quarter, with FHS outsourcing CHS 8-6 in the frame to take a 40-34 lead into the fourth.
The Lady Admirals scored five straight early in the fourth quarter to stretch a nine-point lead. KK Graves then scored two straight layups to make it 45-40 before Strickland completed a three-point-play to make it 48-40. Each time the Lady Cavaliers got within five, the Lady Admirals answered with buckets of their own. FHS made six free throws in the final minute as they secured their first trip to the state title game in school history.
“Farragut’s a good team,” said Gillies. “They had a good game plan for us. We had a lot of good looks at the basket, but they had a good game plan not to let us get second opportunities and I think that hurt us.”
Gallagher led CHS with 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Chay Cunningham tallied 10 points and five rebounds. Jordan Gillies added nine points and five rebounds. Graves also scored nine points with nine rebounds.
The Lady Cavaliers’ ended the season with a 33-2 record, which is top in program history. Gillies said her group of seniors, Emma Webb, Bailey Gillies, Madison Brewer, Chay Cunningham and KK Graves is the most special she has ever coached.
“I don’t know that I’ll ever have another senior group that genuinely likes each other like this one does,” said coach Gillies. “They’ve done such an amazing job at setting a high standard for Cookeville basketball. They’re a fun group to be around.”
Graves said she embraced being a leader in her senior year.
“We made history this year,” said Graves. “This year I tried to tell my team what’s best.”
While a talented group of seniors will be gone, the Lady Cavs return a core of stars and a talented eighth grade class. Gillies said the loss will drive their team to return to the state tournament and leave with a gold ball.
“We will have a good freshman group coming in and really good leadership coming back,” said Gillies. “Our expectations are really high now. That goes back to what KK and the seniors did. They set that bar. We don’t want it to end here, but we want to get here every year. I feel like the future’s bright.”
Photos by Rusty Ellis:
