Bradley Central's Anna Walker lines up a shot against East Hamilton during the District 5-AAA title game at Soddy-Daisy High School last month. The Bearettes face Lebanon in the first round of the state tournament in Murfreesboro.The Bradley Central girls' basketball program is in a familiar place.
The Bearettes (31-3) face Lebanon (25-10) at 11 a.m. EST Thursday in the first round of the Class AAA state tournament at Middle Tennessee State University's Murphy Center, and the arena nicknamed the "Glass House" feels like home to the program that shares the record for most TSSAA girls' basketball state tournament appearances (30) with Class A's South Greene.
Now Bradley Central, which has an overall winning percentage of .816 over the past 60 years and is 38-25 in state tournament games, hopes more legendary tales are to come.
"To be a part of a storied program means a lot," Jason Reuter, who is in his ninth season as the Bearettes' head coach, said after the team's practice Tuesday at McKenzie Arena. "We are trying to carry on what others have done before us, particularly a man named Jim Smiddy. When you talk about the history of women's basketball in our state, you can't talk about it very long without bringing up Bradley Central."
The Bearettes are seeking the program's sixth state championship and first in 43 years. They've reached a state title game just once since 1976, when Karen Mills created one of the program's legendary moments with a game-winning shot against Smyrna to cap a second straight undefeated season.
"To be here among the best of the best is an honor," said Reuter, who is making his 10th state tournament appearance as a Bradley Central staff member. "Our focus is on one game at a time, but our end goal has always been to win the whole thing."
Bradley Central has yet to lose a District 5-AAA championship under Reuter, who is 264-32 as the Bearettes' head coach for an .892 winning percentage and has led them to four straight 30-plus win seasons. While he did not know Smiddy well, Reuter believes his "blue-collar" Bearettes share a similar characteristic to the squads led by the TSSAA and Tennessee Hall of Famer whose 1,217 wins set the national record for the most by a basketball coach at any level.
"The thing we have in common is our teams work very hard," Reuter said. "We put in a lot of work in the summer and in the weightroom. We always strive to be tough mentally and physically. When you work hard, you feel confident in what you can do."
With a win against Lebanon, Bradley Central would advance to a Friday afternoon semifinal against the winner of Thursday's second AAA matchup between Science Hill (31-3) and Oak Ridge (33-2), which is coached by Paige Redman. Along with Amy (Geren) McGowan, Redman was a star player for the 1995 Bearettes who were state runners-up.
That semifinal would be at 3:45 p.m. EST, after the 1:15 p.m. semifinal pitting Riverdale (31-1) against Houston (30-2). In tournament openers Wednesday night, Houston topped Mt. Juliet 65-58 and Riverdale beat Arlington 67-50 to begin its quest for a fourth straight championship.
A year after the graduation of phenom Rhyne Howard, who is now at Kentucky and was named the Southeastern Conference freshman of the year on Tuesday, sharp defense is still a hallmark for the Bearettes, who have allowed an average of 36.7 points per game this season.
Bradley Central junior Anna Walker, a 6-foot-2 post player, has averaged 14.2 points and 1.7 blocks per game this season while making 78 percent of her free throws. Another leader has been sophomore point guard Jamaryn Blair (10.9 ppg).
Now the program that once rattled off 90 straight wins hopes to rattle off three in a row in Murfreesboro.
"We have a team where all the girls know their role," Reuter said. "We are not concerned about individual glory, we are more concerned about team glory. We will fight together to end that elusive chase for the gold ball."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.