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By Jim Steele
steele@mckenziebanner.com |
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MURFREESBORO - When Trenton defeated Huntingdon 46-41 in
the Class A girls' state basketball semifinals last
Friday, Huntingdon left the Murphy Center on the campus of
Middle Tennessee State University disappointed and
heartbroken.Trenton left the floor relieved.
The Tidettes had dodged a bullet, or at least a huge
horseshoe print.
The Fillies carried the eventual state champions to the
limit before bowing in the Final Four. In a nip-and-tuck
game, Huntingdon held a three-point lead with fewer than
three minutes to play, but a late 11-2 run down the
physical stretch by Trenton sealed the Tidettes' berth
against Ezell-Harding in Saturday's championship game.
Huntingdon finished its season with a 28-7 mark.
One of the big differences in the game was the fact that
Trenton hit six triples, Huntingdon only attempted one
shot and that one didn't fall.
"They shot better than I thought they would," said
Huntingdon coach Mike Henson. "They made some three-point
shots that I didn't think they'd make."
Trenton hit four triples in the first half, three in the
second quarter, as it rolled to a 20-14 lead. They hit two
more in the third quarter. Jessica Ford's final triple
boosted the Tidettes in front by seven, 28-21, the largest
lead of the game by either team.
But Huntingdon did what it had to do to win the game. The
Fillies are largely a man-to-man team, but they showed
guts and abandoned their normal scheme for a zone defense.
"We've played man-to-man for 33 games," Henson said. "Like
the t-shirts say, we wanted to do whatever it takes; I
thought they'd have trouble shooting with our zone, but we
stayed in it and they made big shots. That 11-2 run at the
end of the game was a credit to them."
Trenton coach Steve Patterson acknowledged that his team
had a better-than-usual shooting day.
"I thought the keys were our defensive pressure and the
fact that we shot better today than we did Wednesday (in
the quarterfinals)," he said. "Huntingdon is a very good
team and those girls found a way to get up here. Henson
had them well prepared."
Huntingdon fell behind 9-4 in the first four minutes of
the game. Two Waneca Melton buckets inside broke the
Fillies' ice. But they finished strong. Lakeah Lockhart
scored four points in under a minute and Kodia Tharpe
responded with 25 seconds to play. HHS led 10-9 after one.
Danielle Barnett, Ford and Jessica Bobbit each flushed
threebies and the Tidettes took a 20-14 lead. But much
like the first frame, the Fillies scored five points in
the final 1:37 to close the gap to one, 20-19, at the
half. Huntingdon had a bit of momentum.
Trenton scored the first five points of the third frame to
lead 25-19 when junior guard Brooke Pritchard scored off a
steal. But Ford's three ball with 4:38 to play in the
third gave the Tidettes their hugest advantage of the
contest, 28-21. That's when Huntingdon got busy.
Melton, Sharri Smith, Ashlee Lockhart, Melton again and
Tharp led a 9-2 run to end the third and knot the score at
30. But the Fillies missed two breakway layups at
different points in the third. Those four missing points
proved to be a tough break.
Pritchard scored off another steal and the Fillies were up
37-34 with 2:53 to play.
"I started feeling pretty good about then," said Henson.
"Then we ended up turning it over."
Trenton's pressure forced 15 second-half turnovers, a
stark contrast to the seven Huntingdon had in the first 16
minutes. The play turned a bit more physical and suddenly
the breaks went against Huntingdon in the last 2:30. But
even though the Fillies were on the wrong end of an 11-2
run, they were still in the game. Melton scored with :26
to play and HHS still had a chance. Ford's two free throws
with 22.2 to play essentially iced the game. |
