Boyd-Buchanan's Maddie Wright reaches for a rebound over Lakelyn Bouldin as Van Buren County defeats Boyd-Buchanan by a score of 57-38 in the Region 3-A girls' basketball championship game at the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences on Wednesday, Mar. 2, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Playing in a gym just blocks away from her future college address, Van Buren County senior basketball player Lakelyn Bouldin looked very much at home in downtown Chattanooga.
Even when her team fell behind big early, the calm demeanor shown by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's lone signee for next season rubbed off on her teammates - and in workmanlike fashion they caught, then passed, then pulled away from Boyd-Buchanan for a 57-38 Region 3-A tournament championship victory Wednesday night at Arts & Sciences.
"It was actually exciting to play here, so close to where I'll be playing for the next four years," said Bouldin, who was named the region tournament MVP after totaling 35 points in two games, including 15 in the title game.
UTC coach Jim Foster was in the gym to watch Bouldin, who's also a Class A Miss Basketball finalist, play in the semifinals on Monday.
"It's always nice to see Coach Foster or any of the staff come watch me play. That motivates me even more," Bouldin added. "I'm looking forward to coming down here and playing and making it my home for the next four years."
On Wednesday, Bouldin and the Lady Eagles (27-4) showed some resilience.
"Even though we got behind early, we're a very experienced team, and we know that we can make a run," she said. "We just regrouped and expected to have a strong second half, and we did. We're very comfortable because we have three seniors and four juniors that have played together for a long time, so that makes us really confident."
Boyd-Buchanan (22-6) raced out to a 14-5 lead five minutes into the game, but the Lady Eagles closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run, then scored the first five points of the second quarter to take a lead they would not give up.
Van Buren then used a 16-5 third-quarter run to put the game away for its third consecutive region title. It was also the Lady Eagles' 17th win in their past 18 games, with each of those victories coming by double figures.
They will host Jackson County (23-5) in Saturday's sectional round.
"My girls are very calm, and that's something we've worked on for a while, is to not show any expression if you get behind early," said Van Buren coach Cheryl Cole, whose team has advanced to sectionals four of the past five seasons but has yet to reach the state tournament. "They just stay focused and know how to take care of what needs to be done.
"Lakelyn used to feel like she had to take a lot of the scoring load on her shoulders, but now she's very confident in her teammates around her, and that makes us a lot better by her getting them involved. It's been our goal all year to not just get to this point, but to move on to the state tournament."
Although Boyd-Buchanan lost, it will also get to host a sectional because Region 4 champion Pickett County (27-2) is under TSSAA sanctions and not allowed to host. Pickett County beat Jackson County 61-20 in its region title game Wednesday.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.