Before the Silverdale Baptist Academy girls' basketball team stepped on the court Friday at Chattanooga State, coach Victor Underwood challenged his captains.
Laney Bone responded by scoring 26 points in a 54-32 win over GPS in a Best of Preps tournament consolation game, setting up a showdown with Notre Dame in the fifth-place game at 1 p.m. Saturday.
"Yesterday's (20-point) loss to Red Bank was tough, and we challenged our leaders to take command. We told them, 'As you go, the team goes,'" Underwood said. "Laney came out and displayed great effort and attitude. That's what we need from her every night. She was resilient today."
Less than 24 hours after she got in foul trouble and scored an unusually low 12 points, Bone could not be stopped by GPS (0-8).
The 6-foot junior hit a fadeaway jumper from the left side of the baseline to give the Lady Seahawks (11-4) a 43-23 advantage late in the third quarter. She also broke through two rebounders for a putback basket and hit a smooth turnaround shot in the final quarter.
Bone, who also blocked three shots, scored on 13 made field goals from inside the arc.
"My teammates set me up for great shots with their passes," she said. "I wanted to bring more energy and help us bounce back. It's important to get the offense going and bring it on the floor so my teammates can follow."
After making its first trip to the state tournament last season, Silverdale hopes to remain a contender in Division II-A behind Bone and fellow leaders such as hard-nosed point guard Tessa Gibson and senior Marlee Montgomery.
"We are focused on unity as a team, and our theme is WIN, but with the I being a 1," Bone said. "As a team we are one, and that's how we play."
* Notre Dame girls 73, Brainerd 32
Kate Ford and Averie Sheppard turned in bounce-back performances to lift the Lady Fighting Irish (9-5).
Ford scored a game-high 21 points, including 10 in the second quarter to energize her team, and Sheppard had a hot hand from long range as she made half of Notre Dame's eight 3-pointers and scored 16 points.
Iceland Bradley scored 18 points for Brainerd (1-11), which will take on GPS at 10 a.m. in the seventh-place game.
* Red Bank boys 43, Notre Dame 34
Stingy second-half defense by the Lions (8-6) limited the Irish (8-8) to just 13 points in the final two quarters.
Red Bank's Hub Swafford had 11 points, all in the first half, and teammate LeKerrick Ellison was the only other scorer in double figures for either side with 10 and a two-handed flush.
Cal Price scored eight points in the first quarter for Notre Dame, which will take on Ooltewah at 11:30 a.m. in the seventh-place game.
Red Bank will face Stewarts Creek at 2:30 p.m. for fifth place.
* Stewarts Creek 61, Ooltewah 51
The Owls (6-8) jumped out to a 19-11 lead after the first quarter, with six Ooltewah players accounting for points in the period. However, Bryce Jackson spearheaded a strong comeback, scoring 17 of his 21 points for Stewarts Creek (6-6) in the second half.
Deleon Petty scored 15 points for Ooltewah.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.