MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Needing every defensive stop possible, Bradley Central turned to the dominant post presence of junior Anna Walker to halt Lebanon in a Class AAA state quarterfinal Thursday.
The 6-foot-2 Walker blocked six shots in a 34-26 victory for the Bearettes, who will face Oak Ridge in a semifinal at 3:45 p.m. EST Friday at Middle Tennessee State University's Murphy Center. That will follow the matchup between Houston (30-2) and Riverdale (31-1), and the semifinal winners will meet in the title game at 2:30 p.m. EST Saturday.
"If we can play defense like that every game, we will be set," Walker said. "But we have to get back to the fundamentals we worked on all the way back this summer if we want to win it all."
With the Devilettes (25-11) unable to breathe on offense, Bradley Central (32-3) had its fewest points allowed in a state tournament game since beating Gallatin 37-24 in a AAA semifinal in 1976 - the year the Bearettes won their most recent of the program's five state titles.
Lebanon won the rebound battle 38-21 but committed 15 turnovers to Bradley Central's three.
"We will not win another game in this state tournament scoring 34, but I am not going to apologize for this one," Bearettes coach Jason Reuter said. "Anna contained the lane, and Jamaryn (Blair) gave us a big spark in the second half. Also, I have coached in 10 state tournaments, and I don't think I have had a team turn it over just three times ever."
Bradley Central missed its first 13 shots, connecting from the field for the first time with 7.5 seconds left in the opening quarter. Down 10-9 at halftime after shooting just 12 percent, the Bearettes then turned to savvy sophomore point guard Blair, who played just four minutes in the first half due to foul trouble but helped spark a third-quarter stretch in which the Bearettes drained five straight shots.
With Bradley Central down 17-11 after a 3-pointer by Lebanon's Addie Porter, Blair answered with a trey of her own from the right wing at the 4:57 mark. Soon after, Blair saw just enough daylight to take her defender off the bounce for a driving layup.
Blair then assisted on Kaleigh Hughes' 3 from the left corner, and Walker connected on two straight field-goal attempts, the second a bank shot in the lane after a nifty spin to provide a 23-21 lead with 1:40 left in the third.
"I came out in the third quarter ready to push the ball and go at Lebanon," said Blair, who scored all nine of her points in the second half and finished with a game-high four steals. "Hitting five in a row changed momentum and gave us hope we could pull out the win."
With the score tied at 25 with 4:49 left, Bradley Central called its first timeout of the game with possession of the ball. When play resumed, the Bearettes maintained possession for more than a minute and a half, the sequence ending with a trip to the foul line for senior Hannah Lombard, who made both shots.
The Bearettes went 9-for-10 from the line in the final 3:17, and the final 2:18 included two of Walker's blocks as well as both a block and a steal by Blair.
Lombard, part of a senior class that is making its third appearance in a state tournament, flashed a veteran calmness that spread throughout the team as she went 5-of-6 on free throws late.
Lebanon shot 26.5 percent from the field for the game, topping Bradley Central's 25 percent.
As the Bearettes try to earn their first appearance in a state title game since 1995, they will have to go through Paige Redman, who as a Bradley Central star player helped them get there last. Now she's the head coach of Oak Ridge (34-2), which handled Science Hill with ease Thursday, winning 65-49 in the other AAA quarterfinal.
"We simply have to score more points," Reuter said. "We have to be more efficient and selective. We can't play too quick or scared. Fear will freeze you. I believe in my girls. We just have to control the game the way we want to play it."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.