REGION 4-3A GIRLS: White County, Upperman Advance To Region Championship Via Semifinal Wins Over Stone Memorial, Watertown

By Michael Lindsay

The Class 3A #3 White County Warriorettes (30-5) and #7 Upperman Lady Bees (25-8) clinched their respective region championship and Class 3A sectional berths on Monday as the Warriorettes defeated #1-ranked Stone Memorial 67-56 while Upperman defeated Watertown, 35-24.

#3 White County vs. #1 Stone Memorial

The top-ranked team in Class 3A went down at the hands of #3 White County on Monday as the Warriorettes defeated #1 Stone Memorial in the Region 4-3A semifinals, 67-56.

White County was led by 22 points and 5 rebounds from District 7-3A MVP Gracie Clark followed by 15 points from Bella Winningham and 14 from Ashlyn Selby.

Four Lady Panthers scored in double figures led by freshman Lexi Clark with 16, senior Ashley Whittenburg with 14, Ella Jane May with 12 and Lauren Clark with 10.

Stone Memorial jumped out to a 12-6 lead midway through the first period, but the Warriorettes reeled off a 15-4 run to end the first quarter ahead 21-16. White County stretched their lead to double figures (33-22) via a Lakelyn Grasty basket with 4:18 left in the second period.

The Warriorettes kept control and took a 38-25 lead into halftime.

“Stone came out like they have all year,” said White County head coach Michael Dodgen. “They punch you in the mouth early, but we didn’t fold. We got some big baskets from Ashlyn, Bella and Gracie that got us back where we needed. I’m really proud of our kids and our fight, especially after you see a teammate go down right before halftime. And then you got to regroup and come back and play again and really proud of our kids for that.”

The Warriorettes led by as many as 16 points (47-31) in the third period and led 53-43 entering the fourth quarter.

“You have to give Stone credit for fighting back,” said Dodgen. “Their senior, Ashley Whittenburg, is a winner, and she fought and competed and made some big shots for them to keep Stone in it.”

Stone Memorial got no closer than 10 points in the fourth quarter as White County held on to win by a 67-56 final score.

White County will face Upperman in the Region 4-3A tournament championship on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Watertown High School. The winner will host a Class 3A sectional game on Saturday while the loser will travel to the Region 3-3A championship winner (Heritage or Alcoa).

“You want to play a substate games at home in front of your home crowd,” said Dodgen. “Upperman’s a really good basketball team and we have a lot of respect for Dana (McWilliams). Wednesday’s going to be a war and we’re looking forward to it.”

#7 Upperman vs. Watertown

The Upperman Lady Bees are back in familiar territory as they defeated host-school Watertown in the Region 4-3A tournament semifinals on Monday, 35-24.

Upperman trailed 9-0 late in the first quarter before going on a 35-5 run over the next 23 minutes of game time to lead 35-14 late in the fourth quarter.

“I’m really proud of the girls,” said Upperman head coach Dana McWilliams. “We got down 9-0 at the beginning of the game and held them to 12 points the rest of the way. Our offense was a little off tonight, so we really tried to be right on the defensive end. I’m really proud of them and excited for them to play in another region championship.”

Gracie Butler led the Lady Bees with 15 points followed by 13 from Taylor Dolente.

Watertown jumped out to a 9-0 lead with 2:38 remaining in the first quarter before the Lady Bees scored 10 unanswered to end the opening frame. Upperman extended their lead in the second quarter as they held a 19-12 advantage at halftime.

The Lady Bees outscored Watertown 10-2 in the third quarter to lead 29-14 entering the fourth, where they held on to win by a 35-24 margin.

Upperman will face White County in the Region 4-3A tournament championship on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Watertown High School. The winner will host a Class 3A sectional game on Saturday while the loser will travel to the Region 3-3A championship winner (Heritage or Alcoa).