For its first-ever sectional game, Arts & Sciences got to host one of the state’s perennial girls’ basketball championship contenders, and the difference in experience showed Saturday night.
The Lady Patriots had proven themselves to be the area’s top Class A girls’ team, but their historic season ended with a 57-31 loss to second-ranked Clarkrange. The win was the 30th of the season for the Lady Buffaloes, who earned their 18th trip to the state tournament in Murfreesboro. They will try for their eighth state title.
“I think it’s good for our girls to experience what it’s going to take if they want to get to the next level of single-A basketball,” CSAS coach Clay Martin said. “We just have to learn from the experience and hope to get better.”
Copper Basin’s season also ended Saturday with a 72-38 loss at third-ranked Jackson County, which defeated Clarkrange in the Region 4-A title game earlier in the week. Four of the Lady Buffaloes’ six losses this season came against their district rival, and after watching their game Wednesday, Martin knew his team would face a stiff challenge in its sectional.
“I just wanted us to come out and compete against them,” he said. “I thought we started out tight and then got a little bit shell-shocked. But they’re a very good team. They’re everything I thought they were going to be.”
The Lady Patriots’ pressure kept Clarkrange in check in the opening minutes, and they were within 8-5 before three turnovers contributed to nine straight points for the Lady Buffaloes. They ended the first period on a 12-2 run and continued dominating in the second.
While CSAS struggled with its shooting, Clarkrange couldn’t seem to miss after Tasha Phillips opened the quarter with nine straight points. The Lady Patriots were held scoreless in the period until Kayla Kelly’s steal and layup in the final seconds made it 34-9 at the half.
“It’s pick your poison with them,” Martin said. “We went with the zone, but they shot the ball very well. The first few minutes I think we were running on adrenaline, but once they starting hitting, you could see their confidence start rolling. You essentially have to play a perfect game just to stay in the game with them.
“They were pretty much able to do whatever they wanted to do whenever they wanted to do it, and that’s the mark of a great team.”
Clarkrange coach Lamar Rogers said after watching CSAS win the Region 3-A title on Thursday that Kelly and Alexis Anderson were the players he was most worried about. The sophomore standouts combined for only seven points Saturday.
“We were concerned about their speed and their shooting from the perimeter,” Rogers said, “but I think we did a good job against them.”
Latrice Wickley, the only senior starter for CSAS, ended her career with a team-high nine points. The Lady Patriots finished the year at 23-7, having accomplished their preseason goals of winning their school’s first region title and hosting its first state sectional game.
“This is a great group of girls,” Martin said. “They made history, and no one can ever take that away from them.”
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