By Bryce Phillips

Star Staff

bryce.phillips@elizabethton.com

 

MURFREESBORO— The Lady Cyclones proved one thing Friday during round one of the Class-AA State Tournament against the Westview Lady Chargers.

They have resilience.

After a first half in which the Lady Chargers jumped out to 16-7 lead, the Lady Cyclones found the footing to hold on in the second half to win 38-34.

“That is the first time we have been in that situation,” Coach Len Dugger said about the Lady Cyclones being down 11 points coming into the third frame. “. . . A lot of kids would have folded. A lot of kids couldn’t have handled that maybe, emotionally and mentally both.”

In a first period that left stunned looks on the faces of Elizabethon fans, the Lady Chargers conducted a 12-2 run. The Lady Cyclones recorded five turnovers in the first frame, while only connecting two of 10 shots.

In the second, the Lady Cyclones were able to put a hamper on Westview’s scoring, holding them to only four points. However, EHS still couldn’t find it’s stride, going zero of six in field goals. Overall in the first half, ’Betsy had a 12.5 field-goal percentage. After the close of two, the Lady Cyclones were down 16-7.

“It was a little frustrating,” EHS senior Megan Pietrowski said. “We weren’t really ourselves in the first half. We weren’t playing very well. We were getting frustrated really easily. It was really affecting our heads, and we weren’t really into it. We just knew we needed to turn that around at halftime.”

The Lady Cyclones came out in the third and gave the Elizabethton fans a jolt of energy as Melinda Perry sparked an 8-point run with a layup. A Kayla Marosites jumper from within  the paint would tie the game at 20 with 1:51 left in the third. After the dust settled, the teams were tied at 22 going into the fourth.

“I think  once we started picking it back up, we started to realize we were coming back,” EHS senior Sarah Robinson said. “Our spirits were lifted and we got back into the game mentally. “

In the fourth, Kayla Marosites hit a deep jumper to give the Lady Cyclones their first lead of the game, 24-22, before EHS went on an 8-2 run to give itself a 30-24 lead.

The Lady Chargers weren’t done, however, as they pushed the score closer, 34-31. The Lady Cyclones held on from the free-throw line, going six of six. EHS went 12-14 overall  from the charity stripe. The gym exploded with cheers from the Lady Cyclones fans as the buzzer noted the end of the game.

Kayla Marosites led the Lady Cyclones with a double-double as she recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds. Kayla Marosites was followed up by Sarah Robinson, Megan Pietrowski and Kelci Marosite, each with eight points.

The Lady Cyclones will be moving on to the semifinals Saturday, when they will face Nashville’s Martin Luther King at 9 p.m. CST, 10 p.m. EST

 

 

Elizabethon 38

Ka. Marosites 10, Ke. Marosites 8, Robinson 8, Pietrowski 8, Perry 2,

Westview 34

Jones 14, Pritchett 9, Flippin 9, Taylor 2

Elizabethton 4 3 15 16 — 38

Westview 12 4 6 12 — 34

3-point goals— Westview 2 (Pritchett 2)