By Michael Lindsay
It came down to the final seconds Friday evening as the DeKalb County Lady Tigers picked up a 57-55 district win at Stone Memorial via an Ella VanVraken game-winning buzzer-beater.
Tied at 55 with 2.7 seconds remaining, VanVraken took an inbound from mid-court and hit a floater near the free-throw line as time expired for the victory over the Lady Panthers.
“Ella Van’s going to find a way to get it done,” said Lady Tiger head coach Brandy Alley. “Her team was in perfect position around her; we had two spotted up, so it was either a shot from her or an open 3. The defense stayed out and gave Ella a chance to take control.”
Alley, in her first season at DeKalb County, was an assistant at Stone Memorial under head coach Mike Buck.
“It was definitely a satisfying moment to beat a coach like Coach Buck; he’s great at this,” Alley said. “I know they’re going to be coming back at us with a vengeance next time, but it was a great win.”
DeKalb County (6-2) is now 1-0 in District 7AAA play after the walk-off win in their league opener.
“A big thing for our girls this week is focusing on being in control; making the smart passes and attacking,” Alley said. “Every one of our girls tonight showed that control. If there was a spurt that we lost it, they did a great job of rallying together.”
VanVraken led a balanced DeKalb County effort with 14 points, followed by Chloe VanVraken with 11 points off the bench. Guards Madison Martin and Avery Agee scored 10 each while forward Tess Barton had 6 points and 9 rebounds.
“I could go down the list and talk about everybody,” Alley said. “Tess Barton came off a game at Smith where she wasn’t her strongest and decided to be the strongest on the court tonight. Madison Martin, our senior, calmed everybody down. From start to finish, everybody that stepped on the court brought something valuable.”
For Stone Memorial, the post duo of Kortney Headrick and Kailee Waldo led the way as Headrick scored 18 and Waldo posted 16. Rachel Houston had 9 points on three 3-pointers.
The Lady Panthers controlled the early portions as they led 22-14 after one quarter. DeKalb County cut into the Stone Memorial lead throughout the second period to trail by 3 at halftime, 33-30.
DeKalb County finally broke midway through the third period as they took a 40-35 lead over the Lady Panthers and led 40-37 to start the fourth quarter.
Stone Memorial rallied and held a 51-47 lead with 3:15 remaining before a Martin 3-pointer cut the SMHS lead to one, 51-50.
DeKalb County caught the Lady Panthers again with 2:30 remaining as an Avery Agee corner 3-pointer tied the game at 53.
Headrick answered on the ensuing SMHS possession as she hit two free throws, giving Stone Memorial a 55-53 advantage with 2:04 left.
DeKalb County missed a 3-pointer on the following possession but an offensive rebound led to a VanVraken euro step floater with 1:09 left to tie the game again at 55.
The game’s next basket would be the last as VanVraken sank the game-winning floater as time expired to give DeKalb County a 57-55 victory.
Up next, the 6-2 DeKalb County Lady Tigers welcome the White County Warriorettes to Smithville for a District 7AAA showdown. White County is 7-1 overall and defeated defending Class 3A champion Upperman on Friday, 61-38, in district play.
Stone Memorial gets about 24 hours to rest as the 6-4 Lady Panthers are in action Saturday evening as they host Cookeville (5-1) at 6 p.m. Cookeville defeated Stone Memorial on Nov. 22, 66-21.
DeKalb County (57): Ella VanVraken 14, Chloe VanVraken 11, Madison Martin 10, Avery Agee 10, Tess Barton 6, Dare Collins 4, Cade Griffith 2
Stone Memorial (55): Kortney Headrick 18, Kailee Waldo 16, Rachel Houston 9, Lily Hinch 6, Adison Howard 4, Ashley Whittenburg 2
