Viqs fall by 21 in district semis

EAGLEVILLE -- It was every coach's nightmare come true for coach Allison Layne as her Community Viqueens lost 57-36 to Middle Tennessee Christian in the District 9-A semifinals Monday night.

The sixth-seeded Viqueens, who played so well on Friday night, were 1-for-17 from the 3-point line (5 percent), shot 19 percent (12-of-62) from the floor and to top it off, committed 22 turnovers to contribute to the rout.

What may be even more egregious is that they let a coach off the hook that publicly discounted them as a worthy opponent in an interview with his hometown paper days earlier despite a Community win over his Lady Cougars on their home floor several weeks ago.

The Viqueens (15-12) managed only six points in the first quarter but played good defense on the No. 2 seed Lady Cougars to trail 10-6 at the horn.

MTC had a 16-point second period upper hand and led by as many as 17 before a seven-point run by the Viqueens. The run was halted on a walking call on a hustle play by junior forward Courtney Vassar, who went to the floor for a loose ball and came out of the ensuing scrum with a pass to a streaking Aubrey Boyce for a layup that was promptly negated.

The Lady Cougars were up 26-17 at the break.

"As bad as we played in the first half we were still in the ballgame at that point," Viqueen coach Allison Layne said. "We just never could get into any kind of offensive rhythm. We got the shots we we're looking for. They just wouldn't go down."

Aubrey Boyce represented the Community offense with eight points in the third quarter, while MTC star Katie Dunn netted five and pulled down an equal number of rebounds.

An already physical game became even more so when the game was halted for several minutes midway through the frame so a trainer could aid Viqueen senior Heather Small after she was knocked to the floor by an elbow. She left the game and was not able to return, though in a classy move, the Lady Cougar fans gave her a standing ovation as she was escorted from the floor.

The fourth quarter was a runaway for MTC that almost got out of hand when Viqueen Jessica Thompson was the recipient of a cheap shot to the head by a Lady Cougar.

The normally mild-mannered Thompson took umbrage at being struck and had to be restrained by the referees, who issued warnings all around.

Sara Sims hit 9-of-12 free throws and paced the Murfreesboro girls with 17 points. Kate Mullins scored 13. Dunn and Julia Howard had 10 apiece.

Boyce led the Viqueens with 16 points.

Community shot 16 free throws to 32 for the Lady Cougars.

Community faces Van Buren County for third place on Thursday night at 6. MTC battles Forrest for the district title at 7:30. Here is what the girls bracket now looks like.