Unionville, Tenn. – When Cascade (8-8, 2-1) went down 43-32 with less than five minutes to go, Community (8-12, 0-3) looked to have locked up a key District 9-AA and massive rivalry win inside of The Rogers Kent Brothers Gymnasium. However, Kaegan Young responded to Alyssa White’s layup with a corner-three to jump-start a 15-2 Cascade run that lasted almost three minutes, allowing the Lady Champs to re-take a two-point lead, 47-45, that they would never relinquish in a 55-51 road win on Tuesday night. 

Kaegan Young led the way for the Lady Champs with 22 points for the second consecutive game on 7/9 shooting from the field, including an incredible 4/4 from downtown. She also connected on four free throws in the final two minutes to put the game on ice. Lizzie Keele scored 10 of her 12 points in the fourth quarter, going 5/5 at the charity stripe in the final frame along with connecting on a massive top-of-the-key three-pointer in the midst of Cascade’s 15-2 run. Kaydence Miller also finished in double-figures with 13 points, including a trio of triples.

For the Viqueens, Alyssa White scored 10 points in both halves to finish with 20 points on the night while Sarah Flanagan finished with 16 points before fouling out late. Mattie Maxey chipped in with 10 points, all coming in the second half, but Cascade was able to hold Anna Haskins in check, finishing with just five points on 2/10 shooting from the field. 

Cascade got off to a good start on both ends of the floor following the opening tip, opening up a 13-6 lead after the opening period. The Lady Champions connected on a few threes while Young also found a rhythm in the mid-range against Community’s 2-3 zone. 

In the second quarter, the Viqueens outscored Cascade, 13-12, to cut the lead to six points, 25-19, going into the halftime locker room, but it could have easily been a three-point margin. With the clock ticking down and Cascade in possession, Kaegan Young got an off-ball screen that allowed her to flare out to the left wing for an open three-pointer to beat the buzzer, and she calmly connected for her 13th point of the first half.

Kaegan Young (22) drives past Anna Haskins (3). Young finished with a game-high 22 points on Tuesday night.

David Smith

Coming out of halftime, Community ramped their intensity up another gear, outscoring Cascade, 15-7, in the third quarter to actually take a two-point lead, 34-32, going into the fourth quarter. The Viqueens first lead of the night came with 3:40 left in the period at 28-27, and they quickly extended it to 34-27 before Cascade went on a 5-0 mini-run over the final 2:11 to close. Alyssa White scored eight of her 10 second-half points in the third period while Cascade struggled to generate quality shots on the offensive end. 

Viqueens HC Cody Pierce talks to Sarah Flanagan (21) who finished with 16 points in Tuesday night's loss.

David Smith

In the final frame, the Viqueens continued their strong play, ballooning their lead to 11 points, 43-32, after holding Cascade scoreless for nearly three-and-a-half minutes to start the fourth quarter. Then, Young’s three went down, Demonbreum called timeout, and this allowed the Lady Champs to set up their full court press. Demonbreum inserted Emerald Tillman for just her second varsity appearance of the season for defensive purposes, and this change worked to perfection.

Tillman, Keele, and Miller made it extremely difficult for Community to inbound the basketball in the full-court 2-2-1 full court press, and after a quick pair of steals, Cascade had cut it to a three-point game, 42-39, in less than a minute. Tillman and Keele both came away with a couple steals, Keele and Miller finished around the basket, and before the Viqueens could blink, Cascade had taken a 47-45 lead with just over two minutes to go. 

Following Maxey splitting a pair of free throws, Cascade had the ball on the baseline coming out of a timeout, looking to tack on to their one-point lead. Demonbreum drew up a simple play to get Keele a wide-open top-of-the-key three-pointer, and after she drained it, Cascade held a 50-46 lead with 1:55 left in the game. Both teams would get their final points from the free-throw line, but Cascade would connect on just enough to close out the Viqueens on their home floor, 55-51.

Community falls to 8-12 (0-3).

Cascade improves to 8-8 (2-1) and they are scheduled to travel to Cannon County on Friday night, LIVE on The Zinger 100.9 starting at 5:45 p.m.