ENGLEWOOD, Tenn. – Victory No. 30 for the McMinn Central Chargerettes was far from perfect – just as their coach predicted – but Saturday’s thrilling 68-65 TSSAA Class AA girls’ sectional win over Livingston Academy was plenty attractive, especially to the team’s lone senior.
Savannah Atkins scored seven of her 17 points in the final period to help hold off the scrappy Lady Wildcats. She and her teammates stepped up when McMinn Central’s leading scorer, junior Jacobi Lynn, fouled out with 5:14 to play and the Chargerettes trailing by one.
Livingston missed four free throws in the final 20 seconds and Mikalya Brown’s potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer hit off the front rim as the packed “Roundhouse” erupted in victory. The Chargerettes (30-2) will play Thursday at Middle Tennessee State University in the state tournament.
“I just told them before the game that you’re not going to play a perfect game and there are going to be runs on both sides,” McMinn Central coach Johnny Morgan said between wipes of the brow. “You’re going to make some shots, you’re going to miss some shots, make good plays and bad plays. What makes the difference is what happens on that next play.”
McMinn Central controlled play for much of the first half, holding a 19-13 lead after one quarter and a 26-18 advantage three minutes into the second period. However, the Lady Wildcats (24-9), led by the deft ball-handling of Brown and Keelie Lamb, closed the half on an 11-4 run to tie the game at 32.