Smith County vs Huntingdon
State Tournament coverage presented by Risher Roofing
MURFREESBORO – The Smith County Lady Owls fell in the quarterfinal round of the Class 2A state tournament to Huntingdon 60-57.
The Lady Owls saw a big fourth quarter rally come up short as a three in the final seconds missed, propelling the Fillies to the semifinal round of the tournament.
“We just made too many mistakes,” said SCHS head coach Matt Ferrell. “Turned it over a few too many times, especially late. They’re tough, they played well, shot the ball better than we did and that ended up being the difference.”
The Fillies opened the game with five straight points before Dacey Claywell opened the scoring for the Lady Owls. HHS stretched its lead to 12-6 before KK Dixon hit a jumper and Emry Jones buried a three to cut the deficit to 15-12 after 1.
The Lady Owls then rattled off a 12-0 run in the middle of the second quarter to open up a 28-19 lead, but the Fillies responded with five points in the final two minutes to make it 28-24 at halftime.
Jones and Dixon continued to carry the SCHS offense in the third, scoring the Lady Owls first 10 points of the quarter as they opened up a 38-31 advantage. Huntingdon answered with two threes and four free throws as they gained a 49-44 lead at the end of the third.
Dixon opened the fourth converting an and-one followed by a Claywell three to give the Lady Owls a 50-49 lead. Huntingdon’s Ellie Wilson answered with five straight to regain a 54-50 lead, then Grier Bartholomew made a three to stretch their lead to 57-51. The Lady Owls’ comeback attempt saw Claywell make a free throw and Sophia Desimone make a three and two free throws with 14 seconds to go. Two free throws for HHS gave them a 60-57 lead, and a final-second three for the Lady Owls missed as the comeback came just short.
“We have played a very difficult schedule and they never shied away from it,” said Ferrell. “They competed all the way to the end, we just missed too many free throws and just made too manuy little mistakes.”
Dixon led the Lady Owls with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
“She’s been really good for us in the last month,” said Ferrell. “She’s averaging a double-double. We put a lot on her and she was a really hard matchup for everybody this year and today was just another testament.”
Jones tallied 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. Claywell scored nine points while Desimone scored five. Overstreet added four points and eight rebounds. Catie Belle McCarter scored two points and added eight rebounds. Scarlet Powell scored three.
The Lady Owls (22-13), made the state tournament for the second time in three seasons. They will graduate one senior, Kellie King, and are expected to bring back all five starters.
“It’s hard not to be disappointed, but it’s also really hard to get here,” said Ferrell. “They waited 50 years and we got to do it two times in three years. It’ll fuel them to get back and this group of kids is resilient.”