EAGLEVILLE, Tenn. – For the first time in the Janie Demonbreum era and the first time since the 2018-19 season, the Cascade Lady Champions (20-6, 6-1) have achieved a 20-win season following a 60-35 shellacking of Class A Eagleville (10-14, 7-0) on Tuesday night.

“It means a lot to me as a coach. I brought it up after the game in the locker room, I looked at Kaegan [Young] and I looked at Suzanna [Crews] and said, ‘You two were here when it was 3-25 [in 2022-23] and that was a brutal year for us,’” Demonbreum said, “Just to ride through those waves and emotions of the highs and the lows that we’ve had over these past four years with those two girls in particular, it’s just something extremely special. Suzanna sent a message to the girls saying she wants to go far, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes, and I think that’s big from a senior leader to just reach out and let us know that stuff. It’s just special.”

Demonbreum inherited a program in 2022-23 that had won just six games total over the previous two seasons, and despite a magical season in 2018-19, the Lady Champions program had been in a steady decline for nearly a full decade. A once-proud program had managed just a single winning season from 2014-2024 after winning 20 games in 2012-13, and Demonbreum has spearheaded the massive turnaround, leading Cascade to secure the No. 1 seed in next week’s District 9-AA Tournament with a game to go.

Cascade's Kaegan Young (22) fires away from downtown in Tuesday's trip to Eagleville. Young finished with 14 points in the non-district win.

David Smith

Against Eagleville, it was actually a junior, Caroline Parker, that shined the brightest for the Lady Champs. Cascade’s point guard finished with a game-high 20 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, including a 4-of-6 clip from downtown.

“Kaegan is who everyone focuses on throughout the game, and when we have players like Caroline [Parker], you can label them as a ‘supporting cast’ but at any point in time they can also be what teams have to focus on," Demonbreum said, "Caroline’s shot is just so nice, and when she gets her feet set and she catches it clean, it seems pretty likely to go in.”

After downing the Lady Eagles on Nov. 21 in the second game of the season, 55-34, the Lady Champs found themselves in a battle for much of the first half against the No. 1 seed in the upcoming District 10-A Tournament. Cascade led 13-10 after one, then went into the halftime locker room with a 25-22 lead. Parker led all scorers with nine first-half points on three triples while Bayli Sutter and MC Whitt led Eagleville with eight and seven points, respectively. As a team, Cascade shot 6-of-14 from outside the arc in the opening 16 minutes. 

Cascade's Lizzie Keele (11) drives to the basket at Eagleville. Keele knocked down a couple of threes as part of a 12-point outing in Tuesday's road win.

David Smith

However, coming out for the second half, the Lady Champs flexed their defensive muscles, forcing turnover after turnover leading to easy baskets to outscore the hosts 23-8 in the third quarter and take a commanding 48-30 lead heading into the final frame.

Cascade kept up the pressure, holding Eagleville to just five points in the fourth quarter while scoring 12 themselves as both benches were emptied in the final two minutes. Class AA Miss Basketball contender Kaegan Young finished with a respectable 14 points on the night, Lizzie Keele nailed a couple of triples to add 12 points, and Jade Tolar seemed to find her groove again off the bench with 10 points of her own, including a pair of three-pointers.

The Lady Champions improve to 20-6 overall. Cascade closes out the regular season with a trip to district foe Summertown with massive seeding implications on the line, LIVE on The Zinger 100.9 and AM 1400 starting at 5:45 p.m.

CASCADE: C. Parker 20 (4), K. Young 14 (1), L. Keele 12 (2), J. Tolar 10 (2), L. Comstock 2, J. Laughlin 2. 

EAGLEVILLE: B. Sutter 11 (3), M. Whitt 9, A. Bolden 5 (1), J. McCall 4, A. Armstrong 2, M. Lawyer 2, A. Oliver 2.