Chattanooga Christian relinquished its lead late in the first quarter. Then Sequatchie County maintained an edge until nearly the end of their District 7-AA basketball playoff game Tuesday at CCS.
The host Lady Chargers would get close -- within one 3-pointer, within one bucket, within a single point -- only to watch the Lady Indians pad their lead.
That was until the final half-minute, when CCS scored the decisive points in a 37-36 win off the fingertips of an eighth-grader.
Young guard Kate Dirkse drove down the left side of the lane and scored on a runner with 22.9 seconds left.
"I saw an opening and took it," the eighth-grader said. "I let it go, and I knew it was good."
Sequatchie County had a chance to answer. Coach Ron Davis called time out and designed a play for star forward Kaylee Smith. It worked to perfection for everything except the result. Smith took an open 3-pointer from the right corner. It looked good from the moment it left her fingers. But it hit the rim, twice, and bounced into the hands of Dirkse.
Sequatchie had a glimmer of hope after a missed free throw by CCS. A long, running 3-point try from Smith at the buzzer hit the rim.
"All three games, we played close this year with them," Davis said. "But they won all three. That means they're better than us."
Smith led all players with 14 points and remained the focus of CCS's defense throughout the game.
Joanna Smith led CCS with 12 points, including a three-point play with 3:48 to go that tied the game at 35. Morgan Royer added 10 points and made an incredible save -- on which she injured her knee -- that led to her teammate's three-point play.
"In the end, we were getting the rebounds," Joanna Smith said. "They're a good team. We got the win."
The Lady Chargers easily could have ended up with the loss. Sequatchie County led 12-5 after one quarter, 18-15 at halftime and 27-26 through three quarters. But the Lady Indians never led by more than six points.
CCS had four opportunities to take the lead but failed to catch up until Royer made the save and Smith converted.
"That's the life of a young team," CCS coach Laura Cottrell said. "Joanna has been a force all year. Lately we've had to rely on younger kids. Tonight, one came through in the clutch."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.