Saturday's game was less than two minutes old when the worst possible thing happened for the Red Bank Lady Lions.
Macy Welch hit her first two shots.
The Rhea County junior, the No. 3 scorer this season for one of Tennessee's top prep teams, then stayed hot with a career-high 28 points as the Lady Eagles earned an 81-68 win in the marquee girls' matchup in the Chatt-Town Classic at Chattanooga State.
"I made two in a row, and when I usually make a few in a row I know it's going to be a decent day," joked Welch, who had six of Rhea's 12 3-point baskets.
Despite the hot shooting, which included 22 points from Mallory Hampton, 18 from Haley Cameron and 12 from Maddie Taylor, the game was far from easy for Rhea (11-1). Red Bank (11-3) used its superior size inside and the lane-slashing talents of Arteya Scott to hang close.
Back-to-back baskets by Bailey Lee and Raijerie Bell to start the second quarter pulled the Lady Lions within one at 23-22. The steady Hampton, though, hit a 3-pointer, added two free throws and assisted on Cameron's layup over the next 50 seconds. Welch then canned a 3 to push the lead into double digits for the first time.
"Sometimes Macy gets overshadowed, but she can really play," Rhea coach Tracy Vest said. "She's got numerous colleges looking at her. For us, she's that third option we can go to, and when people try to take away from Mal and Haley, she can do some damage."
Rhea's lead was 11 at halftime and grew to 14 four minutes into the third quarter when Welch scored seven straight points and Hampton cashed in on one of her daring drives into the lane. She later added a three-point play to push the lead to 62-44 entering the final quarter.
Red Bank turned up the pressure in the final eight minutes and even got within eight when Bell hit a pair of 3-pointers during a 10-0 run. The Lady Eagles, however, hit six late free throws to keep the game in hand.
"It was a physical game, and we really didn't finish it like we should have," Vest said. "We had the game in hand, but we relaxed a bit and they hit some shots. This was a good weekend for us. We found out some things we have to work on. Today, especially, it was defensively. We gave up more points today than in any game this year."
Scott had 19 points, Lee 17 and Bell 14 to lead Red Bank, which competed this weekend without coach Bailey McGinnis, who was out sick.
* Chattooga 57, Brainerd 35
The Lady Indians (10-3) won their second game in the event with a quick start and 40 combined points from MaKiya Parrish and Faith Ann Foster. Parrish had half of her 24 points in the first half as Chattooga built a 29-16 lead. Foster scored seven of her 16 in the third quarter as the Lady Indians pushed their lead to 28. Tyliyah Ward had 12 points and Iceland Bradley 11 to lead Brainerd (1-8).
* Grace Academy 32, Central 21
Grace (3-5) jumped to a 13-5 lead after one quarter and never looked back. Savannah Engelbrecht led the winners with 10 points, with Anna Rush adding seven. Janya West scored 13 for Central (2-7).
* Northwest Whitfield 58, Tyner 35
The Lady Bruins (6-5) held just a one-point lead heading into the final quarter but outscored Tyner 26-5 in the final eight minutes. Tionna Baker scored 11 of her game-high 23 points in the final quarter, while McKenzie Brueckner finished with 11, including six on a pair of 3-pointers in the final period. Jemiyah McKenzie led Tyner (5-4) with 15 points, all on 3s.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.