Story and Photos by Rusty Ellis
The Cookeville Lady Cavs will host their substate game on Saturday, as they took down Beech in the Region 5/AAAA Championship 54-49.
Beech took an early advantage, as their defense gave the Lady Cavs fits early on. Senior Chay Cunningham played a big role in keeping the team within striking distance in the first quarter, as she knocked down three three-pointers for nine points in the frame.
Threes from Bailey Gillies and Cassie Gallagher helped give Cookeville a 22-20 lead at the end of the first.
The defenses took over in the second, as Cookeville went for over half the period without scoring a point. The Lady Cavs made shots when it mattered though, as KK Graves drilled a three shortly before the horn to give CHS a 29-27 lead at the halftime break.
Both offenses came back to life in the third, and the Lady Cavs outscored Beech 15-12 to push their lead to 44-39 heading into the fourth.
Cookeville pushed the lead to 10 at 51-41 with just under four minutes remaining in the frame, but Beech wouldn’t go away quietly. They cut the lead all the way down to 51-49, and had a chance to tie with the score at 52-49.
A three-point attempt went halfway down before bouncing out with 16 seconds left however, and Cookeville close the game out with free throws and earned the region title with a 54-49 victory.
Cunningham paced the team with 14 points, while Gallagher and Jordan Gillies each added 11 points. Gillies also snagged 15 rebounds, as the Lady Cavs clinched a home substate game for head coach Jamie Gillies.
“It feels good, I was glad to see the clock hit zero,” Gillies said. “I’m proud of our girls…we had a few mishaps there in the fourth quarter, but we held on to the lead and made free throws when we needed them.”
Cunningham’s early three-point barrage was key in overcoming a tough defensive start from Beech, though her shooting that well is hardly a surprise to Gillies.
“She shoots that well all the time,” Gillies said. “We’re a team that you have to guard all five players. They left her open a few times, and she made them pay. She had a great spark for us in the first quarter when everybody else was getting a lot of pressure.”
The Lady Cavs will now host Ravenwood on Saturday for the chance to go to Murfreesboro, and Gillies put the call out to Cookeville to come support her 30-1 squad.
“It’s big,” Gillies said. “We’re excited to be back at home. Hopefully we’ll pack the gym and have a good crowd. These girls are fired up, they’re excited.”
