Thank goodness Cascade High School is a safe place. No guards patting you down. No metal detectors.

Otherwise Cascade point guard Tiffany Gibbs would never have been allowed in the gym on Tuesday night with all the nails she had jingling and jangling in her pockets.

Cascade's Tiffany Gibbs was deadly at the free-throw line. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge]

Don't let the freshman's blonde hair and blue eyes fool you. She was anything but innocent in her team's 42-37 District 9-A win over visiting Middle Tennessee Christian as she hammered the lid on the coffin with her late-game heroics.

After Ann Mullen sank a couple free throws to put the Lady Champions ahead 2-0 to start the game, the Lady Cougars fought right back to take the lead and hold it till Gibbs decided to start emptying her pockets.

Her 3-point play with 10.5 seconds left in the third quarter pulled Cascade to within one.

Less than three seconds later Gibbs was suddenly at the free-throw line again, making a pair and nudging the Lady Champs ahead 28-27 as the teams entered the final quarter.

Teammate Michelle Bauman hit a 3-pointer and Gibbs followed with a free throw to seal off a 17-1 run that put Cascade ahead 32-27.

Gibbs calmly sank five free-throws in the final 37.6 seconds to nail up the coffin that housed the Lady Cougars.

"I had a lot of confidence in her tonight to make (the free throws) and she did," Cascade coach Tracy Ferrell said.

The Murfreesboro foes demanded the point guard be searched after the game's conclusion. Authorities only found a dagger rolled up and tucked in a sock. Apparently, Gibbs had it ready but never had to use it since Middle Tennessee Christian was held to one field goal in the final 4:03.

"Our defensive intensity was better in the second half," Ferrell said. "All the subs did great coming off the bench. We had some odd combinations out there with one post at times."

The victory ups Cascade's season mark to 9-7 and 3-3 in 9-A. The Lady Cougars fall to 12-7 and 3-3.

Gibbs finished with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting at the charity stripe. The Lady Champs were 12-of-16 as a team on free throws.

Amy Mullins led Middle Tennessee Christian with 19 points.

The Lady Cougars were up 8-3 after a quarter and 22-15 at halftime.

Cascade takes the short ride over to Webb on Saturday with tip-off set for 6 p.m.

"We want to play our game and build on this win," Ferrell said. "It seems like sometimes when we play them we get in kind of a daze."