ATHENS, Tenn. - What the McMinn Central girls lacked in execution Tuesday evening, they made up in persistence.
The Chargerettes banged, attacked and free-shot their way to the District 5-AA tournament championship at McMinn County High, eventually claiming a 58-48 victory over Sequoyah that was far from pretty.
The McMinn Central boys made it a clean sweep, outscoring Meigs County 34-12 in the third quarter on their way to a 92-62 victory. Tournament most valuable player Tim Webb led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points, while Josh Scudder had 17 and Max Miller added 11.
Levi Woods led four Tigers in double figures with 16 points, with Bryson Baker adding 15, Tristan Spradling 12 and Jack Powers 10.
In the girls' game, the Chargerettes were 22-for-35 at the foul line. They shot 22 free throws in the first half, hitting 16 on their way to a 38-27 advantage. Yet the first half and overall performances weren't to coach Johnny Morgan's liking.
"We played scared to start with," he said. "Then we played hard for a while and went to the glass but then came back and played timid for a while, only to start wanting it again and getting loose balls.
"If we play all the time like we do some of the time, we'll be pretty good."
Elizabeth Masengil finished with 18 points -- 10-for-15 from the foul line -- and was named tournament MVP. Kelsey Young added 10 points, and she and guard Sidni Williams made the all-tournament team.
"Coach really told us to take good shots and be under control," Young said, "for us not to go in and just throw up shots, but to go in with the mindset that we were going to make the shot. Tonight's a great win -- it motivates us -- but we all want to keep going and moving to get a gold ball."
The Chargerettes will host Brainerd in the Region 3-AA quarterfinals Friday, while Tyner will travel to Sequoyah. Howard will host Meigs County, while District 6 champ East Hamilton will be at home against Polk County.
The McMinn Central boys will host Tyner in the region tournament, and Meigs will host Chattanooga Central. Sequoyah will travel to Brainerd and District 6-AA champion Howard will entertain Polk County.
McMinn Central boys' coach and athletic director Doug Armstrong said his school hoped to play a doubleheader Friday night, with the girls' game at 6.