It took an extra period to get it done, but the McMinn Central girls' basketball team upset top-ranked Meigs County 58-56 to win the Region 3-AA championship Wednesday night at Loudon High School.
After Meigs County began the fourth quarter with a 13-4 run to take its first lead of the game with 1:29 remaining, the Chargerettes rallied to tie with 38 seconds remaining on two free throws by Carlie Runyan. The Lady Tigers, who were on a 22-game winning streak, missed two field goals and a free throw in the final 11 seconds of regulation that could have given them the lead.
For the Chargerettes, who had split their regular-season series with the Lady Tigers but lost to them by five in last week's district tournament, it is their 15th region crown in the past 19 years.
Runyan led McMinn Central (20-13) with 17 points, while Melia Baker and Anna Smith each added 14.
Kassidy Kenny scored 19 of her game-high 21 in the second half to lead Meigs County (29-3), and Anna Crowder finished with 12.
McMinn Central will host Dekalb County in a state sectional Saturday, looking to advance to the state tournament for the first time in three years, while Meigs County, which hasn't reached the state tournament since 2014, will travel to second-ranked Macon County.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.