Bradley Central sweeps 5-AAA tourney titles

Walker Valley's Jaclyn Griffith, center, tries to pass the ball away from Bradley Central's Halle Hughes, left, and Rhyne Howard during their TSSAA District 5-AAA girls basketball championship game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015, at Ooltewah High School in Ooltewah, Tenn.
Writer: 	DS
Walker Valley's Jaclyn Griffith, center, tries to pass the ball away from Bradley Central's Halle Hughes, left, and Rhyne Howard during their TSSAA District 5-AAA girls basketball championship game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015, at Ooltewah High School in Ooltewah, Tenn. Writer: DS

There were a lot of bear paws on the District 5-AAA championship plaques Thursday at Ooltewah High School, as Bradley Central's basketball teams swept the titles. The Bradley girls beat Walker Valley 58-50, and the Bears followed with a 47-40 win over rival Cleveland.

All four teams will host Region 3-AAA quarterfinals Monday and Tuesday.

The Bearettes stormed out of the gate with ferocity, pouncing on loose balls and rebounds to help turn aggressive defense into points on the other end. They scored the game's first 13 points and ended the first quarter with an 18-8 lead.

Walker Valley used a similar intensity to pull itself back in the game in the second quarter. The Lady Mustangs started the period with a 10-0 run and at the break were down by only two points.

"They played hard and did everything we asked them to do," Lady Mustangs coach David Tucker said.

The teams continued to trade runs in the second half. The Bearettes scored the first five in the third quarter before the Lady Mustangs answered with six straight from CyCy White. Bradley closed with a 9-2 surge and a 45-36 lead.

Rhyne Howard hit a 3-point shot as the buzzer sounded to finish out the quarter. She had 10 points in the quarter and 30 for the game.

Kathleen Alomar, who finished with 18 points, led the charge in the fourth for the Lady Mustangs, as the Bearettes tried to fight back fatigue.

"We only went with six players tonight, and my apologies to Sidney Morgan, who is our seventh rotation player," said Bradley coach Jason Reuter. "We told them they were in the last leg there at the end, and they just had to get across the finish."

Alomar scored five straight points with 5:30 to play to cut the deficit to four. Bradley secured its first double-digit lead since the first quarter, but Alomar would not be denied. She converted on a three-point play and later stroked one from beyond the arc, and Bradley's lead was all the way down to 52-50.

The Bearettes picked up clutch rebounds, however, and with time running out Walker Valley had no choice but to put them on the line. They struggled initially but settled in to seal the victory.

"To not have seniors, and to win five (district championships) in a row, even though we weren't picked to win it, is pretty sweet," Reuter said.

Bradley's boys trailed for most of their championship game before going ahead late in the third quarter. Both teams struggled in the first half, which ended with Cleveland up 19-18.

"We just know each other so well, offensively and defensively, that it makes the game messy," Bears coach Chuck Clark said. "We were really impatient in the first half and settled for way too many 3s. We adjusted in the second half and started running our sets."

The Bears took their first lead with a free throw with 2:46 to go in the third quarter, and after the Blue Raiders took it back, Tucker Maroon scored five points in a row, including a 3 to give his team the lead for good.

"I think Tucker's 3 really changed the game," Clark said.

Bradley extended its lead to 10 before Cleveland cut it back to five. The Raiders could not find their shooting rhythm, even late, and could not close the gap all the way. Bradley hit free throws down the stretch to seal the win in the same fashion the girls had done.

Bradley had three scorers in double figures. Cole Copeland scored 11 points and Daniel Clark and Maroon had 10 apiece.

Cleveland got 11 from Rod Dennard.

Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com

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