MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Bradley Central and Lebanon, meeting in the quarterfinals of the TSSAA Class AAA girls' state tournament for the third year in a row, had a feeling their basketball game would be tightly contested.
Two great defenses made that exactly the case Thursday afternoon, with the Bearettes and Lebanon combining to shoot 23.8% from the field at Middle Tennessee State University's Murphy Center. The Devilettes' 10th and final field goal of the game provided the difference as senior point guard Addie Porter hit a running jumper from the left elbow with 3.5 seconds left for a 36-35 victory.
"We are heartbroken, but I couldn't be any prouder of our girls," Bradley Central coach Jason Reuter said. "We have been on the other side of this. Just two years ago, we hit a game winner to win the state championship. But these kids showed a lot of heart and never wavered."
The Bearettes (27-2) battled back from a woeful second quarter as Kelsey Carman's offense provided a major spark.
Carman - who had to have 20 stitches to her chin after a hard fall in Saturday's sectional victory over Oakland - led the Bearettes with 13 points as she provided stellar play in the post. Carman had six points in an 11-0 run that was capped by a putback layup by Hannah Jones for a 20-16 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Porter scored nine of her game-high 14 points in the fourth quarter, during which the Devilettes (29-4) were able to respond when the Bearettes rallied.
Bradley Central's Karsee Weber made a 3-pointer in front of her team bench to cut the Bearettes' deficit to 32-31 with 1:08 remaining, and then senior Jamia Williams stole the ball off a trap at midcourt and hit both of her free throws with 48 seconds left to put them up by one.
Porter regained the lead for Lebanon by hitting a pair of free throws, but those were answered by a perfectly executed backdoor screen, set by Jones to free Weber for a wide-open layup assisted by Carman. That put Bradley Central ahead 35-34 with 23 seconds left.
The Devilettes, who had 15 offensive rebounds in the game, got a second chance at the last shot late as a missed shot went off Bradley Central out of bounds to set up Porter's heroism.
Both teams put on a clinic at the foul line. Bradley Central made all 10 of its free throws, while Lebanon made 13 of 14.
During their title run two years ago, the Bearettes beat Lebanon 34-26 in their opener at state. Last season, the Devilettes beat Bradley Central 51-42 at MTSU, though that wound up being their final game. It was March 11, 2020, the day sports began to shut down across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the TSSAA never completed the tournament.
Now, though, Lebanon moves on to face Hardin County (21-2) in Friday's semifinals, while the Bearettes are left to reflect on another good season - but also one that ended earlier than they would have liked.
"Our seniors have been to four state tournaments and won one," Reuter said. "They have never complained to me one day. They have brought their lunch pail to practice every day. These girls have entertained all year long and are a very special group. They never flinched, and they gave it all they had."
One of those seniors, Anna Muhonen, finished with three assists and two blocked shots in a tough matchup against Lebanon's 6-foot-3 Meioshe Mason. Muhonen, who will stay close to home for her college playing career as a Lee University signee, is grateful for her time as part of the state's winningest high school girls' basketball program.
"There was never a day I didn't want to go to practice," she said. "That's rare, because a lot of people hate going to practice. But I was surrounded by a bunch of people who wanted it just as bad as me. We gave everything we had for our program. Bradley is a special place, and I wouldn't change these four years for the world."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.