Lady Cyclones slip past Greeneville to capture regional championship
Published 11:58 am Thursday, March 2, 2023
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Referee Richard Church tosses the ball into the air as Elizabethton’s Marlee Mathena and Greeneville’s Chloe Marsh jump for the opening tip of the Class AAA Regional Championship at John Treadway Gym.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Lady Cyclone guard Reiley Whitson makes a tough baseline pass while being heavily guarded by Lady Devil Jordan Swatzell.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Elizabethton’s Renna Lane pushes the basketball into the paint to get a shot at the rim. Lane finished with 19 points to lead the Lady Cyclones to a sectional home game on Saturday evening against Knox Hall at 7 pm.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Region tournament MVP Lina Lyon quickly pushes the basketball up the floor after a turnover. Greeneville’s Lauren Bailey (10) gives chase.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Five Lady Cyclones were named to the All-Region Tournament team. They included (L-R) MVP Lina Lyon, Renna Lane, Reiley Whitson, Marlee Mathena, and Olivia Holly.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Elizabethton head coach Lucas Andrews celebrates as he made the final snip on the game net after capturing the 2023 Class AAA Girls’ Regional Championship.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The celebration continued as the Lady Cyclones take another moment for a quick photo.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The Elizabethton Lady Cyclones, student body and cheerleaders celebrate a huge region title on Wednesday night.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The Elizabethton Lady Cyclones captured the 2023 Class AAA Region Championship on Wednesday night with a scintillating 59-58 win over Greeneville.
STAR CORRESPONDENT
In the game of basketball, a win is a win, whether it’s by one point or 30 points. However, it’s easier on the nerves if there is at least some breathing room.
As everyone sat on the edge of their seats for the final 10 seconds of Wednesday night’s Class AAA regional championship game at John Treadway Gym between host Elizabethton and the Lady Greene Devils of Greeneville, the game hung in the balance until a final last second desperation shot by Greeneville rimmed off giving the Lady Cyclones a minuscule 59-58 victory to seal the championship.
With the win, the Lady Cyclones (28-4) sealed a sectional home game against Knoxville Halls (24-8) on Saturday evening at 7 pm. The Lady Greene Devils (26-8) will travel to Seymour (26-9) on Saturday at 7 pm as well. Winners in both games will advance to the BlueCross Girls AAA Basketball Championship next week at the Murphy Center on the campus of MTSU in Murfreesboro.
The contest was close throughout as Elizabethton clung to a 17-16 at the end of one period and 30-27 at the intermission.
Elizabethton got an opening trey from Katie Lee before the first quarter turned into a nip-and-tuck game as Renna Lane lifted her team on her shoulders in the first eight minutes scoring 11 of the team’s 17 points.
Lane continued the hot hand into the second period scoring five more to help ensure the Lady Cyclones would maintain their lead at the break.
Lina Lyon, Reiley Whitson, and Lee added three points each in the half, while Maddie Fowler and Olivia Holly collected two points each.
Greeneville was kept close by the play of Anna Shaw, who scored nine in the half. Miss Basketball finalist Lauren Bailey chipped in with five points.
Coming out of the break, the Lady Cyclones started out just like the game began, with Whitson spotting up in the corner and burying a trey to extend the lead to six but the game continued to be played out just like the first half ended as the Lady Cyclones at one point built a seven-point lead before the Lady Devils battled back to one just moments later.
Greeneville just wouldn’t go away as the Lady Devils finally managed to work their way out front by one point with just a few ticks over five minutes left in the game.
Elizabethton quickly spun the lead back into their favor by five until the Lady Greene Devils had the opportunity to take a lead with ten seconds remaining to play but Bailey bounced a ball off her leg giving the Lady Cyclones the basketball.
The Lady Devils fouled Lyon on the inbound with 8.9 seconds left for their sixth team foul and then sent Marlee Mathena to the line with six seconds left for the one and one.
Mathena’s first shot rimmed off and Greeneville raced back the other way, looking for the buzzer beater that fell just short of its mark, sending the Lady Cyclones along with the student body and fans into a frenzy celebrating the regional championship.
Lane led the way with a game-high 19 points. She was joined in double figures by Holly and Lyon with ten points each despite each struggling to find their offensive groove in the contest.
Whitson finished with nine points, while Lee added six. Mathena and Fowler finished with three and two points, respectively.
Bailey finished the game with a team-high 17 points to lead the Lady Devils attack. Kyla Jobe also reached double figures with ten points. Chloe Marsh and Shaw contributed with nine points for Greeneville.
Lyon captured MVP honors for the region tournament while teammates Mathena, Lane, Whitson, and Holly was named to the All-Tournament team.
