By Michael Lindsay
Five Upper Cumberland girls basketball teams are set to compete on the state’s biggest state this week as Clay County, Pickett County, York Institute, Smith County and Upperman each clinched state tournament berths via sectional victories Saturday night.
A look at each team’s sectional win and what’s next at state available below:
Class 1A
Pickett County cruised to a 95-55 victory over Copper Basin in their Class 1A sectional matchup while Clay County won at Van Buren County, 51-41. Both teams will play Wednesday afternoon in the Class 1A state tournament quarterfinals as Clay County will face Moore County at 5:15 followed by Pickett County vs. Cloudland at 7:15.
Class 2A
York Institute clinched their third consecutive Class 2A state tournament berth Saturday evening as they defeated Pearl Cohn, 64-38. Fellow District 5-2A program Smith County will join York in the Glass House as the Lady Owls clinched their first state tournament berth in over 5o years by winning at East Nashville, 40-37. Both teams will play on Thursday as York Institute will face McMinn Central at 9:30 a.m. while Smith County is set to face Gatlinburg-Pittman at 12:45 p.m.
Class 3A
The Upperman Lady Bees clinched their seventh state tournament berth in the last 9 seasons Saturday evening as they defeated Signal Mountain, 41-22. Upperman is scheduled to play Greenville on Thursday at 7:15 p.m.
Spectator information for the state tournament available HERE: https://tssaasports.com/venue/murphy-center/?sport=basketball-girls
State tournament brackets:
