Tellico Plains is headed to its sixth region semifinal in seven seasons after the Lady Bears blew past District 4-2A champion Sequatchie County 57-40 in the Region 2-2A quarterfinals, Friday.
Three separate Lady Bears scored in double digits, a win that was charged by convincing defense in the middle quarters paired with shots dropping for Tellico (19-10).
“Our perseverance: we stuck it out, stuck to the game plan and adjusted a few things at times. We played good, team-solid basketball,” Tellico Plains coach Brooke Evans said.
While Tellico’s shooters did not find consistency until the second half, the win was set in motion by shutting down Sequatchie County’s Cortlyn Lee.
Lee started the night with four field goals and nine points in the first quarter. Lee finished the night with 19 points, limited to six points and one field goal in the decisive second and third frames.
Tellico shifted into a double-team defense on Lee, swapping in guards throughout the night.
“Every time she touched the ball we tried to swarm her and did a pretty good job of it. We pretty much shut her down in the second half,” Evans said. “We kept a lot of ball pressure out front. It was anybody or everybody; it was not just one person.”
Off the bench, Abbi Wear was instrumental in slowing down Sequatchie’s offense.
“She gave us a huge spark in the second quarter. She was a part of the reason that (Lee) did get shut down,” Evans added.
Haley Cooper led Tellico with 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Cooper added a field goal in the 13-4 second quarter and eight points in the conclusive third frame.
“She came out of her shell and really played a great game,” Evans said.
Tellico finished with 11 field goals and 35 points in the second half. Kate Hicks knocked down 10 points in the third frame while Riley Maney added five more.
Hicks finished with 12 points with five from Maney.
Delilah Reed finished with 11 points, hitting four field goals and going 3 for 3 at the line.
“We came out in the third quarter and decided we were not going to lose the game,” Evans said.
The ever-changing first quarter did not slow down the Lady Bears, but it left Evans short to refer to Friday’s win as a complete game.
“I will say we were close. We struggled in the first quarter, but we pulled it together and came out in the second quarter,” Evans said.
However, Tellico’s coolness on the road — and in the round that eliminated the Lady Bears last season — is a sign of the growth within this team.
“It shows how much our girls have grown. Before, we would kind of get in our heads and maybe struggle. But we decided we were going to play and show that when we put our mind to it we can do good things,” Evans added.
Kirklyn Stockwell finished with nine points for Sequatchie County (18-12). Cana Green added six points and five from Jalyn Kelly.
Taylor Rose finished with six points, followed by five from Abbi Wear, two from Jonna Moses and one from Hannah Dalton.
Tellico advances into the final 32 teams in Class 2A and the Region 2-2A semifinals, where winners will advance to the Class 2A sectional round.
District 3-2A pulled a full-round sweep over the opposite district, moving the host site for the semifinals and championship to McMinn Central from CSAS.
Tellico will face Meigs County, winners over Marion County 66-18. McMinn Central throttled Bledsoe County 88-9 while the Chargerettes’ semifinal opponent Kingston beat Tyner Academy 68-49.
“(We’re focused) on believing in ourselves. I think, sometimes, we get intimidated by the front of somebody’s jersey. We just have to do what we do and believe we can beat anyone we come up against,” Evans said.
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