RUTLEDGE – The Greeneville girls basketball team walked into Grainger High School on Wednesday night with their sights set on a region championship, but left empty handed after suffering a 75-54 loss to Daniel Boone in the Region 1-3A Championship.
Boone came into Wednesday night’s contest ranked No. 2 in the state in class 3A according to the TWSA. The Lady Devils knew who they were up against and stood toe-to-toe with the Lady Trailblazers for the better part of the first half. Greeneville stormed back from eight down and ended the first on an 11-0 run and led by three at multiple points. A Boone run was inevitable. But it was larger than Greeneville imagined.
The Lady Blazers went on a 19-2 run bridging from the second to third quarter and held a commanding 15-point lead after three quarters of play. Not even a man defense or zone defense could stop Boone in the second half as their lead only grew larger and larger. Daniel Boone would leave Grainger County with the Region 1-3A Championship.
Greeneville may have lost, but the season is not over. The Lady Devils will have the most important game of the season next. They will travel to meet Cocke County in Newport for Saturday’s sectional round matchup. A win sends Greeneville to next week’s Class 3A State Tournament. The game will be at 7:00 PM.
“We’ve just got to go in and play tough. We know going to Cocke County is not going to be an easy route. And we can’t go in there and lay an egg,” Lady Devils Head Coach Annette Watts stated.
Brylee Tullock led Greeneville with 18 in the loss. Julia Woolsey added 12. Andrea Flores and Aaliyah Story scored 23 each and led Boone. Ella Wilson scored 13.
There were multiple storylines in this one. Boone had won 16-straight coming into Wednesday night. Their last loss actually occurred in Hal Henard Gymnasium, home of the Lady Devils, in December’s Ladies’ Classic. Aaliyah Story had never beaten Greeneville where her father played. And Greeneville’s Brylee Tullock was former teammates with Boone’s Aaliyah Story and Laney Britton at David Crockett High School for three years. Neither of the three have appeared in the state tournament and Coach Watts and the Lady Devils were the reason that didn’t happen one of their three years together.
The game started with Boone landing the first punch on Wilson’s two. Tullock gave Greeneville their first two with a layup trailing 4-2. The Lady Blazers took control right away and went on a 9-2 run with four-straight from Story and five-straight from Flores. As soon as Boone led 14-6, Coach Watts called a timeout. And it worked.
The Lady Devils ended the first quarter on an 11-0 run. Woolsey began with a three-pointer and Tullock followed with a layup. Maria Lyde scored two next. Tullock and Woolsey finished the quarter off with a bucket each. Greeneville led 17-14 after one.
Greeneville stayed steady on the gas in the second, but Boone kept up. Flores broke Boone’s scoreless drought with two to start. Lyde scored next followed by a pair of foul shots by Flores. Tullock’s three-point bomb gave Greeneville a five-point, 23-18 lead. It was their largest of the game. The lead evaporated quickly as Boone went on a quick 8-1 run and regained the lead. Wilson and Story made three-pointers each to help aid the run.
Greeneville trailed 29-26 before Jordan Swatzell scored a three-point basket and Matea Gray sank a runner to lead 31-29. The score was knotted 31-31 at halftime.
From there, it was like watching an avalanche form in the distance. You saw it coming, but couldn’t do anything about it. If it wasn’t for Brylee Tullock’s free throws to open the second half, Greeneville would’ve suffered a 19-0 run. Instead, it was 19-2.
Boone took full control of the game with a huge run and held Greeneville to only one field goal in the third. Aaliyah Story scored nine points during the run and was unstoppable on the offensive glass. A key moment in the game, and a key storyline throughout, was Maria Lyde’s foul trouble and eventual foul out with 1:46 left in the third. The junior post missed the final 9:46 of Wednesday’s game. Tullock ended the field goal drought with a layup with 1:04 left. Greeneville trailed 50-35 entering the fourth.
If Boone’s run in the third wasn’t suffocating enough, their run in the fourth was. The Blazers began the final period on a 12-0 with four three-point bombs. Two from Andrea Flores and two from Ella Wilson. Coach Watts used every timeout in her pocket and tried changing defenses from man to zone, but nothing worked. When Boone got hot, they were red hot. Ayla Masters sank a three-pointer also and helped account for five fourth-quarter threes for the Blazers.
“I used every timeout I had. I thought going to a zone was a good idea, but it wasn’t. Going man to man wasn’t. We just couldn’t guard them,” Watts mentioned.
Boone’s starters received a standing ovation from their fans as they exited the floor with 1:25 left up 73-50.
Daniel Boone defeated Greeneville, 75-54, and claimed Wednesday’s Region 1-3A Championship.
“I felt like we had the game plan tonight, but they are very, very good. Boone is good. When Maria goes out, we’re just hurting a little. We’ll fix that Saturday and we’ve got another one to go and we know what that win means,” Coach Watts stated.
Brylee Tullock led Greeneville with 18 in the loss. Julia Woolsey added 12. Andrea Flores and Aaliyah Story scored 23 each and led Boone. Ella Wilson scored 13.
Greeneville travels to Cocke County on Saturday for the class 3A sectionals. It’s simple. Win and you go to state. Lose and your season is over. Daniel Boone hosts Northview. The games are set for a 7 PM tip.
All-Tournament Team:
Andrea Flores, Boone (MVP)
Aaliyah Story, Boone
Laney Britton, Boone
Ella Wilson, Boone
Brylee Tullock, Greeneville
Maria Lyde, Greeneville
Julia Woolsey, Greeneville
Addison Bunn, Elizabethton
Rylee Sivert, Cherokee
