Grundy County left its "A" game back in Coalmont, and Signal Mountain took full advantage.
In what was billed as a District 7-AA girls' basketball shootout - with championship implications - host Signal Mountain shredded the Lady Yellow Jackets like a soaked paper sack. The game was out of reach at halftime (53-14) and ended 77-42.
"We came out with a lot of energy," Lady Eagles coach Kendra Bell said. "The kids followed the game plan to a 'T,' and we shot the ball well. When you're pressing well and shooting the ball well, really, really good things happen. We got up early and (Grundy) just didn't recover."
The 7-AA title race is currently a deadlock between Signal and Sequatchie County, each with a district loss. Grundy is just a game back with two losses.
Signal lost to Sequatchie earlier this season and Grundy, sinking 19 3-point baskets, put a double-digit loss on Sequatchie last week.
"We thought we'd come out and shoot the ball like we did last Friday," Lady Jackets coach Jonathon Shedd said. "We didn't take care of the details I told them about coming in. Signal's a good team but Signal's a very aggressive team, and because they're so aggressive you have to have pass fakes, you have to have shot fakes to take advantage of their aggression. We didn't do it."
Grundy couldn't get a handle on Signal's press, which led to 35 second-quarter points, or on Lady Eagles senior point guard Aryn Sanders, who ended up with 29 points despite sitting most of the final quarter.
"Sanders may be the fastest kid I've seen all year," Shedd praised. "She's so quick and so athletic. Those types of kids are rare."
And just as important to Signal Mountain, which missed more than its share of shots within two-three feet of the goal, was the play of sophomore post Maia Rackel, who scored 22 points.
"Maia has continued to grow as sophomores do a lot of times, and she is being rewarded because she plays so hard," Bell said. "She's a phenomenal athlete, and it's good that the guards are rewarding her for running up and down the floor. And she's learned how to finish around the rim and she hits her free throws. It's a process that was going to happen. I'm just glad that it's happening now."
Bell wasn't so sure this was a statement game for her team.
"We lost some games I didn't think we should have, and our kids know it. If it's a statement, I hope it's one that we can continue to make."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.