WHITWELL, Tenn. - The wall just inside Whitwell High School's gym that is wallpapered with red banners now has one more to hang. The brief dry spell is over for the Lady Tigers as they roared back from a double-digit first-half deficit and beat Van Buren County 62-46 in Saturday night's District 5-A championship game.
"We didn't do anything well in the first half. We were really nervous for some reason to start the game, but we finally settled down and played like we can in the second half," said junior Seneca Barnett, who scored eight of her team-high 14 points in the second half. "This is what we've worked for all year."
Van Buren's boys beat Richard Hardy 74-54 for their fourth straight district title, led by Mr. Basketball finalist Caden Mills' 40 points, including six 3-pointers. South Pittsburg won both consolation games, the boys beating Whitwell 73-52 behind Mason Fuqua's 16 points and the girls defeating Richard Hardy 53-45, led by Olivia Cagle's 18 points.
The Region 3 boys' and girls' matchups won't be known until District 6 completes its tournament. The 6-A girls' title game is Monday and the boys' championship contest is on Tuesday.
Van Buren's girls led throughout the first half, and a 13-2 run midway through the second quarter gave Eaglettes a 15-point lead just before halftime. But Whitwell opened the second half with a 3-pointer from Cameryn Hoag and that set the tone for a 21-8 third quarter that tied the game going into the final period.
The Lady Tigers took the lead for good on Ally Grayson's 3-pointer, which kick-started a 7-0 run to begin the fourth. Whitwell ended the game on a 12-0 run and held the Lady Eagles to one field goal in the final 8:41.
"I definitely challenged our girls at halftime," said Lady Tigers coach Eric Zensen, who guided his team to its first district title in five years. "It was a complete turnaround in the second half. Once we got going our press had a lot more energy and helped us make up some ground pretty quickly.
"I think the nerves got to us early in the game. The girls looked flat and I think that was because they started thinking about what we were playing for. But I couldn't be more proud of this team and the way they fought back. We haven't had a championship here in a while, so this one feels pretty good."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.