MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — After rallying to within one point at halftime, Walker Valley stumbled to begin the second half and fell 49-35 to top-ranked Morristown West in a Class AAA girls’ basketball state quarterfinal Thursday.
After making just 29 percent of its first-half shots, Morristown West (33-1) began the third quarter with an 8-2 run and shot 47 percent in the second half.
Allison Jones scored 21 points to lead the winning Lady Trojans, and Sidney Goins scored 14. Taylor Hall, a 6-foot-1 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga signee who was announced Thursday as the state’s Gatorade girls’ player of the year, had 16 rebounds with 10 points.
Both teams were making their second state-tournament appearances. West now plays the winner of Thursday’s last quarterfinal between fourth-ranked Memphis Central and eighth-ranked Clarksville. That semifinal will be tonight at 6:30 EST.
“I felt like I had an off night shooting, but my teammates really stepped up big,” said Hall, who helped the Lady Trojans outrebound Walker Valley by 16, including 18-7 on the offensive boards.
After trailing by seven early in the first quarter, the fifth-ranked Lady Mustangs scored the final five points of the first half to pull within one.
TSSAA Girls’ Class AAA quarterfinalMORRISTOWN WEST 49, WALKER VALLEY 35Walker Valley 8 13 5 9 — 35Morristown West 12 10 10 17 — 49Walker Valley (35) — Gobble 3, Jordan Neuharth 11, Allen 4, Moreland 6, Kayla Sewell 11, Still, T. Neuharth, Stepp, Terpstra, Black, Watson, Sotuyo.Morristown West (49) — Fanney 1, Taylor Hall 10, May, Smith, Sidney Goins 14, Allison Jones 21, Wild 3, Ray, Lyons, Berquist, Kerley.3-point goals: Walker Valley 6 (Neuharth 3, Moreland 2, Sewell); West 3 (Goins 2, Wild). Records: Morristown West 33-1; Walker Valley 32-3.
The Lady Mustangs, who did not substitute until 6:21 remaining in the game when Laurel Allen was called for her fourth foul, shot just 21 percent from the floor in the second half.
“Everything we shot came up short,” Walker Valley coach David Tucker said. “I think we were tired. But then again, if we hit just one or two of those 3-pointers in the third quarter, we’re right there.
“We struggled with our shot, but that’s a pretty good defensive team we played.”
Jones’ putback with 2:17 remaining gave West its first double-digit lead, and after Walker Valley answered 10 seconds later with a 3-pointer by Jordan Neuharth, the Lady Trojans went back up by 10 on Hall’s three-point play. They extended the lead from there.
Neuhart and Kayla Sewell scored 11 points each to lead Walker Valley (32-3).