Bradley Central girls' basketball coach Jason Reuter is familiar with Daniel Boone, his team's opponent in the first round of the Class AAA state tournament today in Murfreesboro. The Bearettes beat the Lady Trailblazers 56-43 in Bradley's Thanksgiving Tournament in November.Bradley Central and its senior class of one have qualified for the Class AAA girls' high school basketball tournament this season. But that one is a gang of one, and one who has been on a mission to make amends from last year.
Rhyne Howard, who was awarded her classification's Miss Basketball award Tuesday night in Murfreesboro, would love this week to lead the No. 2-ranked Bearettes (32-0) to the sixth state championship in the program's history. The quest to win three more games begins today at 2:15 p.m. EST against No. 5-ranked Daniel Boone (30-4) at Middle Tennessee State University's Murphy Center.
But still in the back of Howard's mind are the "what ifs" from last season when five others, most of whom were seniors, were the primary players around her.
That Bradley team was unbeaten through its first 32 games but didn't get to the state tournament because of a sectional loss to Stewarts Creek. Howard, who has signed with Kentucky, and her new Bradley cast last Saturday moved past the point where the 2016-17 season ended by beating Blackman 63-34.
Current Lee University player Halle Hughes was Howard's main scoring sidekick on the 2016-17 team. Howard has been on record saying the Hughes family has been like a second family to her.
"I think they know just how much they mean to me," Howard said of the Hughes clan. "They're a part of my life. I wouldn't be who I am today without them."
Halle's sister, Kaleigh, is a junior on this Bearettes team. She said after the sectional victory that she and her sister still remember well last year's season-ender.
"Especially this past week it came up a lot," Kaleigh said. "It was such a heartbreaker. It was hard to get over. She sent me a text saying, 'It's ya'lls to go win this year.' It was bittersweet.'"
Against Blackman, Howard became the Bearettes' No. 3 career scorer - No. 1 in 5-on-5 play - and she is averaging 22.5 points per game. She also averages 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 5.4 steals per game to go with 89 3-point goals made and 38 blocked shots.
But despite leading Bradley in every major statistical category, and some by a substantial margin, Howard shared the credit after Saturday's win saying, "I knew my teammates this year would have my back. They showed up tonight and got me to the state tournament."
The Bearettes' next three top scoring averages belong to Jamaryn Blair (7.5), Hughes (7.4) and Anna Walker (7.4). Walker averages 4.8 rebounds and has 29 blocks. Blair, a freshman reserve, is next in assists and steals at 2.2 and 2.1 per game.
Hughes has made 46 3-pointers and Cambree Mayo has made 44. Fellow starter Hannah Lombard is third in steals at 1.7 per game.
Bradley and Daniel Boone have played each other in each of the last two seasons with Bradley winning both. Boone has a 6-foot-3 Carson-Newman signee in Sydney Pearce and a quick, physical guard in Belmont signee Macie Culbertson. Baleigh Carmichael is a pure shooter from the perimeter, and improving wing Jaycie Jenkins and defensive-minded guard Emily Sizemore round out the starting lineup.
"I think it's going to come down to who can make shots and who can stay out of foul trouble," Bradley coach Jason Reuter said Tuesday night. "If it comes down to depth, I think we'll have the advantage. And I do have one thing that they don't, and that's Miss Basketball."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.