By Michael Lindsay

Girls

The Class 3A #1-ranked Stone Memorial Lady Panthers (23-3, 7-1) wrapped up the regular season District 7-3A championship Friday night as they made the 4.1-mile trip across Crossville to defeat the Cumberland County Lady Jets (15-13, 2-6), 61-51.

“We had a lot of pressure on us,” said Stone Memorial head coach Mike Buck. “The gym was crazy and there were a lot of things that we had to overcome. Give Cumberland County credit; they came back and competed, and they’re talented. I’ve been a part of a few state championship runs, and each one had a moment on the road where it just isn’t working that night. This was a game that a lot of teams would have lost, but we fought and we stayed together and made the plays we needed to.”

Lady Panther freshman Lexi Clark led her team with 19 points along with 14 by Ashley Whittenburg. Class 3A Miss Basketball finalist Sydney Wilhite led Cumberland County poured in 20 points for the Lady Jets followed by 13 from Olivia Futrell and 12 by Mady Spriggs.

“It was it was hard to put multiple good plays together,” said Buck. “Lexi made some big shots late and got to the free-throw line. Ella Jane made some free throws and got some big rebounds for us.”

Stone Memorial jumped out to an 18-9 lead after one quarter and led by as many as 13 points midway through the second quarter, but the Lady Jets chipped away at Stone Memorial’s lead to trail 30-23 entering halftime.

The Lady Jets continued their run in the third quarter as a Wilhite basket with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter gave the Lady Jets their first lead of the game at 33-32. Stone Memorial answered with a pair of baskets to retake a 38-33 advantage with 2:55 remaining in the third period. The Lady Panthers closed out the third quarter with a  43-41 advantage.

Stone Memorial scored the first 4 points of the fourth quarter to lead 47-41, but the Lady Jets responded with a three-pointer and an and-one finish by Futrell with 4:39 remaining to tie the game at 47-47.

Lauren Clark broke the tie with a Lady Panther basket on the ensuing possession. Lexi Clark tacked on a free throw with 3:58 remaining followed by a pair of Ella Jane May free throws to give Stone Memorial a 52-47 lead with 2:32 left. The Lady Panthers closed out at the free-throw line from there to win by a 61-51 final score.

The victory secures the #1 overall seed for the Lady Panthers in the upcoming District 7-3A tournament hosted at Cookeville High School while Cumberland County will be the #4. The Lady Panthers will face the winner of #4 Cumberland County and #5 Livingston Academy in the tournament semifinals.

“It’s special,” said Buck. “I knew we could make the game really hard for people, and we had the depth to play into the style that we wanted to. Our kids fit our system perfectly, and Lexi playing at the level that she’s played at is massive. To me, she’s a player of the year in our league. But all of our kids are playing at a level that gives us a chance.”

Stone Memorial has one more regular season game on Saturday as they travel to Class 2A #1-ranked York Institute (22-4, 6-0) for a matchup of #1-ranked teams. The Lady Panthers defeated the Dragonettes 50-43 on Dec. 11.

“York is as good as anybody out there,” said Buck. “They’re a favorite to bring home a ball from Murfreesboro for a reason. They’re really talented and they’ve beaten a lot of really good teams. Coach Michael Green’ had done a fantastic job over there. He plays everybody and I respect the heck out of him for that.”

#1 Stone Memorial at #1 York Institute will livestream on UCR’s Facebook page and YouTube Channel on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m.

Boys

The Class 3A #8-ranked Stone Memorial Panthers (16-8, 6-2) wrapped up the #2 overall seed in District 7-3A Friday night as they travelled across town to defeat #10-ranked Cumberland County (18-8, 4-4) by a 45-32 margin.

“You got to win games like that,” said Stone Memorial head coach Jess Raby. “You have to give them both teams credit; both teams played really hard defensively. I think they (Cumberland County) played harder than us for 3/4 of the game. We did good on our defensive assignments and we forced tough shots. That’s a good offensive team and holding them to 32 points is big; I’m really proud about that.”

Evin Moseley led Stone Memorial with 11 points followed by 9 points by Jack Cordell and 8 from Hunter Haney. Jake Christopher led Cumberland County with 13 points.

“Evin Moseley really lit us lit a spark for us,” said Raby. “He hit some big threes for us in the second half and gave us a little separation. Noah Potter had an extended period there off the bench, too.”

Stone Memorial held a 10-7 lead after the first quarter of action. Cumberland County took control in the early portions of the second quarter as an Asher Mifflin three-pointer with 5:15 remaining in the second quarter gave the Jets a 12-11 lead. The Jets entered halftime with an 18-15 advantage.

The Jets extended their lead to 26-21 via a Christopher three-pointer with 4:o5 remaining in the third quarter, but Moseley answered for the Panthers as he drained back-to-back three-pointers to give the Panthers a 27-26 lead with 2 minutes left in the third period. Stone Memorial held their lead as they entered the fourth quarter with a 32-30 advantage.

Stone Memorial pushed their lead to two possessions (37-32) via a Charlie VanWinkle layup with 3:30 left. The Panthers closed out from there as they went on to win by a 45-32 final score.

Friday’s win by the Panthers secured the #2 overall seed in the upcoming District 7-3A tournament at Cookeville High School, where they’ll face off again against the #3-seeded Jets in the semifinal round.

“The guys will have a few days off,” said Raby. “I’ll watch a lot of film. When you get to tournament time, you’re just trying to go day by day. You’ve got to keep it fun, too. Go fight, compete and have fun at the same time.”