East Hamilton's DeZah Lacy made the first but missed the second of two free throws with 9.9 seconds remaining in the District 5-AAA high school basketball game Friday that would've given the host Lady Hurricanes the comfort of knowing a Walker Valley 3-pointer afterward would only send the game to overtime.
The Lady Mustangs' Macey Clark got the opportunity, or at least she thought, to launch that 3-point shot from the left wing. But Lacy came up from behind, blocking it after it barely left Clark's hands, and the Lady 'Canes won 49-47.
"I thought she got a good look. Sometimes in transition you end up with a better look," said Walker Valley coach Paul Cretton, who chose not to call his final timeout after Lacy's miss. "She had the ball right there in the palm of her hand. I felt good about that. I liked what she got."
East Hamilton (7-9) improves to 4-0 in the district, which is the same record that No. 2-ranked Bradley Central took into Friday's district game at Ooltewah. The Bearettes are undefeated overall.
"Everybody's chasing Bradley," East Hamilton coach Hunter Gremore said.
The Lady 'Canes fell behind 9-3 but outscored the Lady Mustangs 40-20 to take a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter.
"I thought we were efficient offensively, really for the first three quarters," Gremore said. "We got real good looks, and we made shots. Defensively we had a hard time. Fortunately, they didn't shoot well from 3-point range."
Walker Valley's offense picked up as its defense began picking up full-court. When Clark made a 3-point shot from the right side off an inbound play with 1:50 to go, the Lady Mustangs had whittled the margin to one.
"Our youth showed," Gremore said. "I had timeouts, but I wanted them to learn on the fly. We lost our composure in the fourth quarter. We had three freshmen on the floor. We turned the ball over. We missed layups. We were in foul trouble. They did a good job of coming back. We were just far enough ahead and made just enough plays."
Madison Hayes and Eliziah Laboo each scored 12 points for East Hamilton.
Lauren Lay had 18 points for Walker Valley (10-7, 3-2) and Abbey Davis added 16. Cretton said he thought one of the key factors was post player Haley Jones, who finished with four points, being in foul trouble most of the game before fouling out with 4:34 to play.
"They really picked us apart without her in there," said Cretton, whose team made only 13 of 28 free throws. "We didn't shoot it well, not only from the free-throw line but also from the floor. Again, they've got a lot to do with that."
* East Hamilton boys 81, Walker Valley 75 (OT): The Hurricanes trailed a good portion of the second half but got the game to overtime, where they outscored the Mustangs 17-11.
East Hamilton (13-5, 3-1) was led by Cam Montgomery's 29 points. Noah Fager had 16. Bryce Nunnley's 22 points paced Walker Valley (2-3 5-AAA). Kolten Gibson totaled 14.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.