Lady Champs watch another lead slip away

CHAPEL HILL -- For the third time this season, Cascade held a second-half lead over Middle Tennessee Christian but fell apart late.

The third-seeded Lady Cougars (20-8) rode a 9-1 scoring run that started in the third quarter and ventured into the fourth to help them earn third place in the District 9-A tournament with a 63-57 win Monday night.

"They wanted it more than us at the end of the game and started killing us on the boards," Cascade coach Chad Spencer said. "Fundamentals got us beat tonight. We had too many turnovers there down the stretch when they started turning up the pressure."

MTC has now won eight straight in the series with Cascade and hasn't lost since Feb. 9, 2007.

That streak appeared to be in jeopardy after Kelsey Parker scored with 1:01 left in the third quarter to put the fourth-seeded Lady Champions (17-10) ahead 45-40.

Alex Martin helped spark the Lady Cougar rally with a 3-point play for the first points of the final period to pull her team to within one.

Playing in her first-ever high school basketball game, eighth grader Juliann Peters calmly sank two free throws at the 6-minute mark to give MTC its first lead since the second quarter and didn't trail again.

"We've just got to find heart," Spencer said. "I don't have the words to express about how I feel about us not blocking out. They had some kids in foul trouble. If we just put a body on people and block them out, they won't get those putbacks. But, that's the difference in Middle Tennessee Christian and Cascade right now. They refuse to lose when they play us. We'll get a lead, and we start playin' not to lose."

The game was a hack fest as 41 fouls were called total, including 23 in the first half.

"When we got in foul trouble and had to sub some kids here and there, it kind of got us out of the flow of the game," Spencer said.

The Lady Champs were in the bonus with 1:53 left in the first quarter.

MTC got points from five different ladies, held the upper hand the entire opening frame and carried a 14-11 advantage into the second stanza.

Jessica Popp was fouled while scoring with 6:13 to go before halftime. She converted the 3-point play by knocking down the charity toss to give Cascade its first lead, 18-17.

The game was tied three times afterwards and Peters kept the Lady Cougars in it with four 3s in the quarter. Devan Welker drained a half-court trey at the buzzer to creep them to within 33-30 at the break.

Julia Howard collected 13 of her team-leading 17 points in the second half. Peters finished with 16 and Kate Mullins 12.

M.K. Potts headed up Cascade's scoring column with 21 points to go with seven rebounds. Popp was 11-for-16 at the foul line en route to 17 points and seven rebounds. Parker had a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards.

Both teams advance to the Region 5-A tournament. Cascade buses to District 10-A winner McEwen. MTC travels to White House-Heritage.

Forrest 49, Moore County 43: The top-seeded and second-ranked Lady Rockets rallied back in the second half to win their fifth consecutive District 9-A title.

No lead was safe in the early going. The Raiderettes (22-7), who won District 11-A last season, took a slight 12-11 edge into the second quarter before using an 8-0 run to pull into a 21-all tie at the break.

Forrest (25-4) got 24 points from Beth Hawn, who was named both district player of the year and tournament most valuable player.

Heather Vann battled foul trouble in the first half but still led the Lynchburg ladies with 16 points. Allata Taylor had 10.

The Chapel Hill girls are riding a 14-game winning streak into the Region 5-A tournament and haven't lost to a Class A team this season. They host East Robertson..

Moore County, whose only Class A losses are to Forrest (3) and No. 7-ranked Cornersville, hosts Houston County.

All girls region games are Friday night at 7. If 9-A can sweep all four games, the semifinals (March 1) and final (March 3) will be played at Chapel Hill. Otherwise, the action heads to East Robertson High School in Cross Plains.