When continual pressure didn’t seem to faze the Signal Mountain girls’ basketball team in the early minutes, the only thing Meigs County coach Jason Powell knew to do was ratchet up the press even more.
That extra gear seemed to wear on the Lady Eagles in the second quarter and helped Meigs pull away for an eventual 61-41 Region 3-AA semifinal victory Monday evening at Red Bank. The Lady Tigers will face McMinn Central on Wednesday for the region title, marking the fourth time this season those teams have met.
The Chargerettes (22-10) defeated Sweetwater 49-39 in Monday’s second semifinal and have won two of the three matchups with Meigs so far this season. Carlie Runyan led McMinn Central with 16 points, and Jordan Wright added 12.
“We talked a lot about how we had to handle their pressure and make shots when we had open looks, and we were able to do that for about a quarter,” said Signal Mountain coach Kendra Bell, whose team ended a 13-game winning streak. “But they just turned it up even more, and we couldn’t respond.
“They were just more aggressive and stronger than we were, but we’re young and this is a good lesson for our girls for what we need to do in the future.”