By Noah McKay
MURFREESBORO – The Upperman Lady Bees finished one possession short in their pursuit of a fourth state championship, falling 41-39 to Dyersburg in the Class 3A state championship game on Saturday at the Murphy Center.
In a back-and-forth matchup, last-minute heroics by DHS star Joya Crawford delivered the first state championship in Dyersburg history, ending the Lady Bees season in heartbreak.
“I thought we played really hard,” said UHS head coach Dana McWilliams. “I thought we played well. We answered a lot of times it looked like they were going to push out there on us. We made a lot of great plays tonight. We took the lead with less than a minute to go. These kids made play after play. (Dyersburg) shot it pretty well, but we held them to 41 points. These guys did exactly what we asked them to do. That’s the way things go. It’s hard. We just came up a little short.”
The Lady Bees controlled the tempo of the game early. Sophomore Taylor Dolente continued her strong shooting in the Murphy Center, hitting two threes in the opening frame as Upperman took an 11-7 lead.
The lead swelled to six early in the second quarter with a layup by Bella Mullins, but the Lady Trojans answered with an 11-4 run using three threes by freshman Kayleign Strayhorn to take an 18-17 lead into halftime.
Dyersburg threatened to open an insurmountable lead early in the third on a layup by Chelby Jordan, but freshman Sadie South answered with a three to cut the UHS deficit back down to three. The teams traded buckets before a technical foul led to two made UHS free throws, and a layup for Bella Stiles gave Upperman a 31-30 lead after three.
“That’s who they’ve been all year long. That’s why we’re sitting here,” said McWilliams on her team’s resilience. “We’ve had a ton of close games. We’ve won most of them, and I thought we were going to win tonight. They know how to win.”
Jordan hit a three with 3:18 to play to give the Lady Trojans a 38-33 lead, but Upperman answered with four straight points by Gracie Butler and another layup by Mullins to retake the lead with 1:29 to play.
Crawford then connected on a midrange runner through a foul to give DHS a 40-39 lead.
“She made a great shot,” said McWilliams. “It was not an easy shot she had to make.”
She missed the free throw, but Netala Dixon recovered the rebound and then made one free throw to make it 41-39 score.
The Lady Bees had an inbounds play in the final seconds, but the ball bounced off a fingertip and out of bounds, allowing the Lady Trojans to inbound and secure the state championship..
The Lady Bees were led by Butler’s 15 points. Mullins tallied 11. Dolente scored six and South tallied three. Ella Harrell and Stiles each scored two.
It was the final game for UHS seniors Mullins, Stiles, Gracie Hamilton, Aly Jones, Kennedy Dolente and Darcy Hickey.
The senior class won three region championships, made three state tournament appearances, earned a runner up finish and won the 2022 state championship.
“These kids have a different kind of toughness,” said McWilliams. “It means a lot to them to play at Upperman. It’s a special place, but it’s because of these kids. This hurts us bad. We don’t like it, but a lot of people counted us out right from day one, and we gave ourselves a chance. I’m really proud of them.”
The Lady Bees finished the season with a 30-7 record. They were the Region 4/3A champions. It was their 12th state tournament appearance and fourth runner-up finish. They have made the championship game in five out of the last nine seasons, and were in the final four in the 2020 tournament before its cancellation.
