Johnny MorganENGLEWOOD, Tenn. -- McMinn Central coach Johnny Morgan had some sage advice for freshman Jordan Wright during a walk-through Monday afternoon.
"I told her to shoot open 3s," Morgan said. "She only shoots it at 46 percent and shoots it with the confidence of a free throw or layup."
Wright made a clutch 3-pointer to break a fourth-quarter tie and help the Chargerettes defeat Central Magnet 56-47 on Monday night.
McMinn Central is heading to the state tournament -- this year in Class AA -- for the 14th time since 1972, just five years before Morgan began coaching at McMinn Central.
"It's a blessing and a privilege," said sophomore Jacobi Lynn, who led the Chargerettes with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. "This team is like a bunch of sisters."
Wright, the starting point guard, finished with 14 points -- also with three 3s, including the one that broke a tie at 44 with 3:30 to play.
McMinn Central broke full-court pressure and Wright dribbled into position on the left and let her shot fly. Swish.
"After I made it, the student section went crazy and it felt good to have all the fans cheering us on," Wright said. "Practice today wasn't hard. We went over our plays.
"Coach told me to shoot the ball more."
She didn't shoot quite as much as Central Magnet senior Claudia Smith, who led all players with 25 points. Smith buried five 3s, with four coming after halftime. Catherine Faulk added eight points.
"It comes down to possessions, and we played well, too," Central Magnet coach Steve Willey said. "I don't think it was a nine-point game. It was closer than that. It was two good teams battling."
The Tigers concluded their season with a 25-7 record on a night when they made six of 14 free throws with seven misses coming in the fourth quarter.
"Missing shots and free throws hurt us, and we haven't been a good free-throw-shooting team all year," Willey said. "We had a great season."
The Chargerettes' season will continue at 3:15 EST on Thursday in Murfreesboro against Monday's winner between Craigmont and Crockett County.
"We tried to keep our heads tonight and stick together," senior Kelsey Myers said. "We did it with defense tonight. It's what's got us this far."
McMinn Central led 16-10 after the first quarter and 23-18 at halftime. Central Magnet opened the second half with a 10-5 run and tied the game at 28 but trailed 39-37 heading to the fourth quarter. Faulk hit a free throw to tie the game at 44 with 3:45 to go.
Central Magnet never owned the lead.
In part, because Wright took her shot 15 seconds later.
"I always remind them, look who has the lead, so we don't have to shoot anything but layups and foul shots," Morgan said. "We ran our offense against their zone until we can get the best shot we can."
Sometimes that's a 3-pointer in transition from a freshman.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.