By Noah McKay
The Upperman Lady Bees won their third straight region championship, defeating district rival White County 52-45 on Wednesday night in Tullahoma.
The Lady Bees raced out to a 21-4 first-half lead and withstood a WCHS comeback attempt in the third quarter to secure the victory and clinch a home sectional round game.
“I thought they played really well,” said UHS head coach Dana McWilliams. “We came out and got off to a good start. They made a big run at us. They’re a great team so we knew that was coming. I was really proud for how we held off that run and made some big plays down the stretch.”
Miss Basketball finalist Celeste Reed picked up two fouls early in the first quarter, and sophomore Lady Bee Taylor Dolente connected on two threes as the Lady Bees raced out to a 15-4 lead after one. The early onslaught continued as UHS forced several turnovers and made free throws to stretch the lead to 17 midway through the second. The Warriorettes, who entered the night on a 13 game winning streak, rallied back to cut the deficit to 12 at halftime.
The Sparta run continued in the third quarter, as sophomore guard Gracie Clark made several buckets to cut the UHS lead down to two. Upperman freshman Sadie South buried a three to answer as the Lady Bees regained a seven-point advantage.
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm in the fourth quarter as frequent whistles put each squad into foul trouble. Reed fouled out in the first minute of the fourth quarter, and UHS forward Bella Stiles also fouled out later in the final frame.
Bella Mullins made a layup, and the Lady Bees made free throws down the stretch to secure the region title.
“You have to make sure you’re mentally prepared for their pressure,” said McWilliams. “It’s really about the kids stepping up to play.”
Gracie Butler led UHS with 12 points and seven rebounds. Mullins scored 10 points. Dolente tallied nine with Stiles scoring seven.
Ava Jones led the Warriorettes with 12 points. Clark tallied 11. Lakelyn Grasty scored eight.
There were 44 fouls called in the game.
For Upperman, the region title comes after two straight losses in the District 7/AAA tournament.
“People forget that they’re teenagers, and sometimes you don’t play well,” said McWilliams. “We had a great regular season and then we had two games in the district against two really good teams and we just didn’t win. I knew it could go either way for us, and they came in the next day with a different mindset. I’m really proud of that.”
The Warriorettes (31-3) will travel to Maryville to take on Heritage (29-3) on Saturday night in the substate round. The winner will advance to the state tournament. Heritage defeated Signal Mountain 55-45 on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. cst and will be streamed on the UCR Media Network.
Upperman (27-6) will host Signal Mountain (23-7) in the substate round. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. also on the UCR Media Network. The Lady Bees defeated Signal Mountain 48-21 in the same round last season.