ROGERSVILLE – West Greene and Gatlinburg-Pittman’s girls middle school teams were both seeking the next step toward this weekend’s TMSSAA state basketball championships after capturing their respective regional titles last week. What followed was a tightly contested battle that featured six lead changes, three ties, and no advantage larger than five points for either team.
In the end, Gatlinburg-Pittman’s Lady Highlanders knocked down the go-ahead basket with just seven seconds remaining and held on for a 32-30 victory in the Class AA Middle School Sectionals to send them to the state tournament.
West Greene coach Andy Williams praised his team’s effort against a formidable opponent, “That team is 27-3, and all three of their losses are to AAA powerhouses. We knew we’d have our hands full. We had a one-point lead with 20 seconds to go, and one of their girls just made a play.”
Both teams came out exchanging perimeter shots in the opening quarter. West Greene built a 16-11 advantage after one period, knocking down four three-pointers—two from Karmin Gaines and one each from Addy Thompson and Anslee Shelton.
Sophia Burkett kept Gatlinburg-Pittman close, scoring six points on two three-pointers. Thompson led the Lady Buffaloes with nine points, while Gaines was close behind with eight.
“We got loose from the three-point line in the first quarter,” Williams explained. “The crazy thing is we only scored 16 points the entire game against them in the Christmas tournament when we lost 23-16. We came out firing on all cylinders and knew it was going to be a dogfight.”
The Lady Highlanders opened the second quarter with a quick basket from Laney McLoud, who led all scorers with 13 points, and a pair of free throws from Addison Moul to trim the deficit to 16-15 with 5:25 left in the half.
Offense was harder to come by for both teams the rest of the period. West Greene managed its lone basket with 2:08 remaining, while Gatlinburg-Pittman scored its final points of the half with 50 seconds left.
West Greene forced a turnover on the opening possession of the second half but couldn’t capitalize. Gatlinburg-Pittman’s Lalla Glasper then scored to give the Lady Highlanders their first lead since early in the opening quarter, beginning a six-point third period for her.
West Greene responded when Michelle Rogers took a pass from Carleigh Williams and calmly finished a layup with 2:55 remaining. That lead grew to 23-19 just 30 seconds later when Mackenzie Burns drained a three-pointer.
Gatlinburg-Pittman continued to attack inside, creating quality looks and drawing fouls. A key moment came at the 2:11 mark when McLeod powered toward the basket, drawing contact from Williams and forcing West Greene’s floor leader to the bench with her fourth foul.
“Carleigh is kind of the glue of our team,” Williams said. “Not having her out there hurt, but Michelle and Anslee held their own in her absence.”
Glasper followed with a basket and one of two free throws to cut the deficit to 23-22. Thompson answered with a bucket to push West Greene’s lead back to 25-22 with 30 seconds left in the quarter.
McLoud closed the period with a three-point play to knot the game at 25-25, setting the stage for a dramatic fourth quarter.
Khloe McCarter gave Gatlinburg-Pittman the lead less than 30 seconds into the final period. The Lady Highlanders had a chance to extend the margin at the free-throw line two minutes later, but both attempts rattled out.
West Greene continued to apply pressure defensively, creating turnovers and opportunities. Shelton tied the game with a putback basket at the 2:23 mark, and Thompson gave the Lady Buffaloes a 29-27 lead with 1:35 remaining.
McLoud answered again, tying the game at 29-29 and prompting Gatlinburg-Pittman to call a timeout with 37 seconds left to set up a potential game-winner.
Out of the timeout, the Lady Highlanders tried to work the ball inside to their Glasper, but Gaines collapsed from the wing to knock the ball loose and into the hands of Williams with 25 seconds remaining. Williams pushed the ball ahead to Burns, who drove to the basket and was fouled. Burns split a pair of free throws to give West Greene a 30-29 lead with 20.8 seconds left.
Not to be outdone, Gatlinburg-Pittman calmly worked the ball back inside to McLeod, who muscled up a basket through contact and completed the three-point play, giving the Lady Highlanders a 32-30 advantage with 7.4 seconds remaining.
West Greene hurried the ball into the frontcourt, looking to get it into the hands of its leading scorer, but Gatlinburg-Pittman came up with a steal to deny a final shot attempt.
West Greene finishes its season with a 25-5 record and plenty to be proud of. Over the past three seasons, the Lady Buffaloes have appeared in three consecutive district championship games—winning two—and have collected 66 victories in that span and only 17 losses.
West Greene (30)- Addy Thompson (9), Karmin Gaines (8), Anslee Shelton (5), Mackenzie Burns (4), Michelle Rogers (4)
Gatlinburg Pittman (32) – Laney McLoud (13), Lella Glasper (7), Sophia Burkett (6), Khloe McCarter (4), Addison Moul (2)
