Rhyne Howard wins game for Bradley Central at buzzer

ATHENS, Tenn. - Coach Jason Reuter drew up the perfect play.

So perfect that his sophomore forward disregarded it and decided to take a different shot just before the final buzzer.

That play worked, too, for Bradley Central.

Rhyne Howard drained a 3-pointer from the right wing to deliver the Bearettes a sixth straight District 5-AAA championship Monday night. Bradley Central topped McMinn County 50-47 on Howard's heroic shot.

"I thought I was going to miss," said Howard, who scored 18 points, grabbed six rebounds and made three steals. "I wasn't having a good shooting night and it felt like it would miss left."

It did hit the back of the rim before dropping through the net, leaving the Lady Cherokees without a chance to respond.

"We had drawn up a flat ball-screen with shooters in the corners, and you typically like to get a shot going to the rim," Reuter said. "She made the decision to step back and shoot the 3 on her own."

Emma Kate Brown added 11 points for Bradley (27-3). Kaitlyn Hennessee led McMinn County (16-15) with 21 points. Both teams will host Region 3-AAA tournament games Friday night.

"Whether we won by 30 or won by three, we're district champions again," Reuter said. "The girls have made an old man out of me. We have to refocus and understand we get everybody's best shot."

The Bearettes had toppled McMinn County by a combined 73 points in the two regular-season matchups. The Lady Cherokees weren't going to get destroyed again.

"Nobody thought we'd be in the championship game," McMinn coach Tim McPhail said. "We're a young team, but we're growing up quickly."

Bradley led 15-11 after the first quarter, but the Lady Cherokees led several times in the second stanza before falling behind 29-27 at halftime. Bradley led by six heading to the final period.

The Lady Cherokees took a 45-44 lead on a bucket by Hennessee. Then Howard scored a bucket and sank a free throw on the Bearettes' next possession. Ebony Kelley tied the game with two free throws with 1:04 to play.

After a couple of misses by both teams, Howard hit the game-winner following Reuter's timeout.

"We won with a lot of heart," Bradley guard Halle Hughes said. "I was getting pretty nervous. But we have Rhyne. She's amazing."

East Hamilton won the consolation game 58-42 over Walker Valley. Destyne Black led the Lady Hurricanes with 18 points, Madison Hayes scored 17 and Kyndall Caudle added 10 in the victory. Gabria Hubbard led the Lady Mustangs with 18.

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at Twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.

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