In her first postseason game as a college basketball head coach, Stacey Franklin's Chattanooga State Lady Tigers lost badly in a TCCAA/NJCAA Division II tournament play-in game last March.
But none of the players in her second season remember that. They're all freshmen, and they don't even have to worry about the 2018 tournament's play-in games tonight in their own gym. These Lady Tigers are seeded third out of 10 teams and open play Sunday night at 8 against sixth seed Columbia State.
Franklin's team has been at or above .500 all season, despite the ebbs with the flows. From 8-3 the Lady Tigers lost five of six games, but then they surged with 10 wins in their last 12 and go into the tournament 19-10.
"We've had the same starting five all season, and they have progressed steadily as a group," Franklin said. "And (5-foot-11) Essence Johnson and Lucy Edosomah have really blossomed as the first inside player and first guard off the bench."
Shanice Nelson leads the team with 14 points per game, while Mackenzie Trouten and Ashlyan Baker have averaged 9.6 and 8.8 and 5-10 Zikaya Wright has averaged nine rebounds with 5.4 points. The other starter is Rachel Sanders from Silverdale Baptist Academy, at 5.9 points per game.
Two of the Lady Tigers' last three losses were to nationally ranked and longtime league power Walters State, the tournament's top seed at 18-0 in TCCAA play, 25-5 overall.
"I couldn't be more proud of these players and their attention to detail and intense desire to get better," Franklin said. "This is a good group of kids, and it's been fun to see how well they've meshed together."
The Chattanooga State men (19-9, 13-5) also have won 10 of their last 12 and are seeded third in the state/region tournament. Jay Price's Tigers play the 8 p.m. game on the all-men Saturday - against Cleveland State (14-11, 10-8). Lee Cigliano's Cougars lost both regular-season meetings, but the scores were 77-68 and 70-68.
"They led most of the second game at our place, and we had to make some shots and some plays down the stretch to win," Price said Thursday night. "So it's going to be a tough game - we know that - and we've got to come with it. We're hoping we can find a way."
Explaining the Tigers' late-season success, Price said, "The second half of the year we played much better as a team. We were sharing the ball and trusting each other on the defensive end. The thing we still need to do better is rebound."
Kalin Johnson leads Chattanooga State with 15.8 points a game, while A.J. Morris averages 13.2, Raekwon Long 12.3, Maleek Taylor 11.6, Roger Davis 9.6 and Jaquez Johnson 8.8. Long and Davis average 8.3 and 7.5 rebounds, and Long adds 2.3 blocked shots per contest.
Tevin Olison has scored 16.5 points a game for Cleveland State with Victor Curry averaging 14.8 plus 11.1 rebounds and Cam Copeland contributing 10.9 points and 5.0 assists. Delaino Walker and Domont'a' Wright add 8.0 and 6.5 points.
Evelyn Thompson's Lady Cougars (15-10, 10-8) are seeded fifth and open Sunday at 4 p.m. against Dyersburg State. Abby Hubert from Baylor School has averaged 20.5 points for Cleveland State, and Ebony Kelley averages 14.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.8 steals with Julia Gaither adding 11.9 points, 4.6 assists and 3.3 steals. Keya Jenkins averaged 10.5 points and 7.8 rebounds, and Hannah Phillips and Jordan Smith score 9.4 and 6.3 points a game.
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.