We just have to go out and be ourselves one more time and play the best basketball we can play.”

Webb coach Matthew Shewmake

COOKEVILLE — While it was an up and down effort on the defensive court in the first half of Friday afternoon’s Division II Class A state semifinal, Webb (30-6) was able to play enough of a lockdown effort to hold Trinity Christian (25-5) under 40 points and advance to the state championship for the second-straight year with a 64-36 win over the Lady Lions.
“We didn’t have the kind of defensive effort in the first half we had really wanted, but we stepped it up in the second half and did a much better as team,” Webb coach Matthew Shewmake said.
Webb held Trinity Christian to just seven points in the opening frame and posted a 7-0 lead before the Lady Lions got on the scoreboard with a basket by Carden Vailes with 5:22 left in the quarter.
Following a pair of free throws by Trinity Christian’s Amelia Goehring, Webb finished the quarter on a 10-1 run to lead 20-7 after the first quarter.
Both teams struggled to consistently score in the second quarter and Trinity Christian was able to out-score Webb, 11-10 in the quarter, but Webb was still able to post a 12-point lead at the half.
But after halftime, it was Bre’aria Cannon that caught fire on the perimeter for the Lady Feet.
She knocked down a pair of 3’s in the quarter and scored 10 of her game-high 20 points in the period.
She added two more threes in the fourth quarter as Webb shrugged off any comeback bid by the Lady Lions.
Cannon shot an incredibly efficient 66% from the perimeter and knocked down six of Webb’s eight made treys.
“They kept helping off her (Cannon) and they kept throwing it to her and she kept making it. That’s what she does,” Shewmake said.
Aalyah Del Rosario also hit double figures and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Tatianna Stovall nearly had a double-double and finished with nine points and 10 boards.
One area Shewmake was particularly pleased with in the state semifinals was the ball distribution and finding the open shot in the half court.
“Seventeen assists on 23 field goals means we shared the ball pretty well. That’s kind of what our calling card is going to be. We’re going to share the ball, make the right play and take what they give us,” he said.
Webb locked down Trinity Christian for the most part and just three Lady Lions found their way into the scoring column.
Friday’s semifinal featured two Ms. Basketball finalists, with Del Rosario facing off against Olivia Lee of Trinity Christian.
Lee finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, but it was Carden Vailes who was the consistent scorer throughout the game for the Lady Lions. She finished with a team-high 15 points, while Goehring added seven.
Saturday afternoon’s state championship pairs the Lady Feet against a familiar opponent—MTCS.
In three previous meetings this season, Webb defeated MTCS, 63-34, 52-40, and 59-49.
“We just have to do about what we’ve done the other three times when we beat them. Just play together. It’s not going to be easy. They’re a good team,” Shewmake said.
“We just have to go out and be ourselves one more time and play the best basketball we can play.”
Webb tips off against MTCS at 4 p.m. at Tennessee Tech this afternoon in search of its second-straight Division II Class A state title.

Webb 20 10 20 14 — 64
TCA 7 11 8 10 — 36

Webb: Bre’aria Cannon 23, Aalyha Del Rosario 12, Tatianna Stovall 9, Angelica Velez 7, Rhema Collins 6, Lauren Rust 4, Bree Robinson 3.
TCA: Carden Vailes 15, Olivia Lee 14, Amelia Goehring 7.
3-Point goals: Webb (7): Cannon 6, Robinson; TCA (2): Goehring, Vailes.
Halftime score: Web 30, TCA 18.