'Pack' attacks: Lady Champs stop Viqueens in 9-A opener

CHAPEL HILL -- Cascade coach Chad Spencer admitted he was anxious to get the District 9-A tournament underway Friday.

Given the youth of his team that includes three freshmen starters, he didn't quite know what to expect as the program looked to advance past the district's opening round for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

The fourth-seeded Lady Champions put the minds of Spencer and their faithful at ease rather quickly with an amazing shooting display in the first half that led to a pair of scoring runs and they eliminated rival and No. 5-seed Community 57-38.

"They're a group and they travel together in packs," a proud Spencer said. "That's one thing coach (Jerry) Naron taught me when I coached with him and Rick Insell. I was very fortunate to learn from two of the best coaches to come through Bedford County. Coach Naron always told me when you find a team that travels in packs and enjoys being together, then winning will take care of itself. I'll never forget that."

It was the teams' third straight first-round meeting and the two locked up in the consolation game of the 2005-06 season. In the previous three postseason contests, the Viqueens walked away victorious.

After taking both showdowns during the regular season in overtime, the Lady Champs (17-8) have now won their last three against their Bedford County sisters.

"It was a total team effort, a team win," Spencer said. "I'm proud of the girls. It's very difficult to beat a team three times, especially a team like Unionville."

Community, which finished third in 9-A and reached the Region 5-A semifinals a year ago, last lost in first round in the 2006-07 season when it was upset at home by Eagleville.

The win guarantees Cascade at least three more games with the first being a semifinal against No. 1-seed Forrest on Monday night at 6.

All of Friday night's winners earned a berth into the Region 5-A tournament, which will be held in Cross Plains at East Robertson High School after the first-round games are satellited out to the higher seeds.

A trio of 3-pointers and a buzzer-beating bucket from Haley Edmondson contributed to Cascade's run of 13 unanswered points to close out the first quarter.

"They came out and hit some shots early on," Community coach Allison Layne said. "They nailed back-to-back 3s on us and seemed like the ball was just rolling their way the first quarter.

"They applied pressure. I thought the first couple of possessions we didn't handle it well. Then, we picked it up, and we began to handle the pressure."

The Viqueens fought back to slim their deficit to eight before the Orange and Black caught fire again. A 3-point play from M.K. Potts with 1:56 left in the second quarter highlighted a 9-0 spurt to close out the half and put the Lady Champs in front 30-13.

"We talked all week about having a good start, (telling his team) 'If they get up a basket or two, just keep battling back,'" Spencer said. "We just shot the ball so good in the first half. We probably shot 80 percent from the field, plus we were hitting out free throws."

The Unionville girls never managed to cut any closer than 14 in the second half. Their season came to a close with an overall record of 14-13.

In preparation, Spencer talked with his team about attacking the basket, which they did with a fury. That aggressiveness got them got them to the free-throw line and opened up clear looks at the basket for outside shooters.

The disparity at the foul line helped tell the tale. After making 9-of-10 free throws in the first half, Cascade hit only 8-of-18 in the fourth quarter, but its totals at the stripe dwarfed those of its neighbor's, finishing 24-for-37. Community got to the charity stripe just four times, all coming from Aubrey Boyce, who dropped in three.

"We didn't take it to them, that's the basic line," Layne said. "They brought it to us all night. We got in foul trouble, and we didn't take it back to them. We shied away from the basket it seemed like. We weren't aggressive taking it to them. We had spurts where we did a good job of doing it and then spurts where where we were non-existent, it felt like, on offense."

Potts kept her composure against one of the better defenders in the district, Courtney Vassar, and wound up with a double-double by netting 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

"M.K. played really good ball tonight," Layne said. "We worked on stopping the ball, and she shot the ball over us. We worked on keeping her out, she took it down. She did her thing, and it shows that she's a really good ballplayer."

Jessica Popp backed Potts' effort with one of her best games in the post, totaling 16 points. Both girls hit 8-of-10 free throws.

Boyce led the Viqueens with 17 points to go with five rebounds. Hannah Busbee scored 10 points, snatched six boards and blocked three shots.

Along with Vassar, it was the final game in purple and gold for the three.

"I love those girls," Layne said. "I tell you, they've been a huge part of this program.

"Great leaders on and off the floor. I'm going to miss them greatly. I think people will really realize next year how much we're going to miss them."

Busbee hangs up her jersey as the school's all-time leader in blocks, Boyce leaves a gaping hole as the team's floor general and Vassar clocked in on defense with as much or more passion than any player Layne's had.

"(Vassar) held some really powerful players down to lower scores. Aubrey handled the ball all year for us, did an excellent job of shooting and taking it to the basket. Busbee, of course, has just got the block as a natural ability. She has perfect timing with that, which allows us to play really hard outside defense," Layne said.

Forrest 71, F.C. Boyd Christian 22: The top-seeded Lady Rockets utilized a 34-point second quarter to separate themselves from the McMinnville visitors.

Class A Miss Basketball candidate Beth Hawn led all scorers with 14 points in limited action.

Forrest went up 14-4 early before entering halftime with a 48-9 lead.

Moore County 58, Eagleville 18: Allata Taylor netted 20 and Rachel Garland 15 to pace the Raiderette effort.

Second-seeded Moore County (21-6) creeped in front 15-7 in the first quarter before taking off to lead 36-12 at the break. A smothering defensive effort improved its advantage to 50-14 entering the fourth.

Middle Tennessee Christian 57, Huntland 36: In the final game of the evening, the third-seeded Lady Cougars extended their winning streak to five games.

MTC got 16 points from Kate Mullins. It held a 17-7 upper and after a quarter, 34-10 midway through and 41-26 heading to the final period.

The Lady Hornets sank 17-of-24 free throws, while the victors were 14-of-19.

Moore County and MTC lock up in the other semifinal on Monday night at 7:30.