CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The upper stands in Walker Valley’s gym were filled to the last row, leaving a few standing-room-only spots for the girls’ basketball game Friday against Bradley Central.
The host Lady Mustangs forced overtime on a putback by Ci Ci White, drawing almost everybody to their feet.
The Bearettes put them back in their seats with a 65-61 victory that keeps Bradley Central (13-4, 6-1) in a first-place tie with Cleveland in District 5-AAA and drops the Lady Mustangs (12-6, 5-2) one game behind.
“We’d been preparing for Walker Valley for the last five days, because we could bring the (Tennessee) Lady Vols in here and they wouldn’t get any more fired up than they’d be for the Bradley Bearettes,” Bradley Central coach Jason Reuter said. “We’ve been the fat cats of the district for a long time.
“There’s a three-way race — I hope I’m not offending any coaches — between us, Cleveland and Walker Valley.”
Freshman Rhyne Howard and sophomore guard Halle Hughes did their parts to keep the Bearettes in a tie for first. Howard scored 24 points. She made four plays in the fourth quarter or overtime that tied the game or gave Bradley a lead. Hughes scored 22 points, including eight in the second half.
Emma Kate Brown added 11 points in the win.
Walker Valley junior Kathleen Alomar led the Lady Mustangs with 25 points. She scored 11 in the fourth quarter and overtime as coach Junior Tucker tried to isolate her for one-on-one opportunities. Jaclyn Griffith added 13 points.
“Kathleen took it upon herself to shoulder a big load — and did a good job,” Tucker said. “We fought a good fight but missed a few shots toward the end that could have got us even, and Bradley made some shots in the end.”
Walker Valley stumbled out of the gate with turnovers on five of their first seven possessions against the Bradley pressure. The hosts trailed by nine after one quarter and by 31-27 when the teams took their 15-minute respite in the locker room.
The Lady Mustangs took their first lead of the game with 3:51 to go in the third quarter on a bucket by Griffith. The Bearettes led 40-39 through three quarters. The game remained within three points well into overtime.
White tied the game with about 30 seconds left in regulation. The Bearettes had two chances to win the game. Neither fell through the net.
“Our defense slacked a bit,” Hughes said. “We stayed pretty calm. I think that’s how we pulled it off.”
Howard tied the game at 59 with a putback with 1:09 to go. The Bearettes then forced three straight misses in the final minute. Brown hit a bucket, Katie Brown made two free throws and Howard clinched it with two more. White added a bucket at the buzzer to determine the final margin.
“They’re a good offensive team and play good defense too,” Tucker said. “They’re tough to handle. We took it to the end and had a chance.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.