Senior guard Lakeah Lockhart said people gave the team strange looks as they loaded up Tuesday morning for Murfreesboro. "People were laughing at us," she said. "Everybody was packing two suitcases. Some of the boys asked us if we were going on vacation. I brought enough clothes to last for a week."

Fortunately, for the Fillies, they will live out of their suitcases another day, following a 39-30 victory over Harriman in the opening round Wednesday.

THE JITTERS - Huntingdon missed its first nine shots against Harriman on Wednesday and quickly fell behind 7-1. There might have been a few worries that the Fillies weren't going to be able to score. Once Lakeah Lockart hit that first free throw and then Brooke Pritchard scored on a breakaway, following a steal, Kodia Tharpe punched in and a 7-1 deficit had melted into a two-point difference at the horn. Much of Huntingdon's opening woes were attributed to nervousness.

"Everybody had a case of nerves," Lockhart said. "Once we worked that out, we had to find a few people to step up and get the Fillies going."

HHS coach Mike Henson said one way to forget about nerves is to focus on the game plan.

"I told my wife before the game that I thought we'd be scared to death out there and the first five or six minutes out there, we were," he said. "But we didn't lose focus on defense. Once we started scoring, I thought we'd settle."

"I think we were all a little nervous," said Pritchard. "But when we looked up and saw all our fans here, that made us feel better."

THE EDGE - Huntingdon took over the boards during the quarterfinal matchup with the Lady Blue Devils. The Fillies outrebounded Harriman 21-13 and pulled down 10 offensive caroms.

"All year long we've worked on blocking out," Pritchard said. "Today, we did."

The two smallest players on the floor, Ashlee and Lakeah Lockhart, accounted for a third of Huntingdon's total rebounds.

"Rebounding is everybody's job, not just the post players," said Lakeah. "We all have to go to the boards."

Said Henson: "I knew we had a legitmate shot at winning, but we had to go to the boards."

FINAL FOUR - Forever more, Huntingdon can lay claim to a spot in the state's Final Four. Even if it loses in the semifinals or finals, Huntingdon will always be known as a team that made it to an elite class of teams.

"We're ecstatic," said a bubbly Lockhart. "And it's everybody. It isn't just a few of us. Just to be here, to look up to my teammates and do whatever it takes, it's just exciting."

Pritchard agreed.

"I'm very excited," she said with a huge grin. "We started here in summer camp and our goal was to make it back up here."

HERE AND THERE - West Tennessee teams were hot and cold at the state tournament on Wednesday. Trenton-Peabody, Huntingdon's next opponent, defeated Friendship Christian 40-29. Chester County defeated Gibson County 46-37 and Martin-Westview knocked off Cheatham County (vanquishers of McKenzie) 63-34...Speaking of Gibson County, there is a definite Gibson County connection at MTSU this year. Huntingdon coach Mike Henson guided the Lady Pioneers to the state semifinals in during the early 1990s. Trenton coach Steve Patterson had success at Gibson County and South Side before taking the Trenton job two years ago. Current Gibson Co. coach David Russell ranks 11th nationally in victories among girls coaches and led Bradford to five state titles and two runner-up trophies...Hall of Fame coach Galen Johnson of Maryville was in attendance at Huntingdon's game Wednesday. Johnson used to conduct a series of five star summer camps in West Tennessee. He was joined by long-time West Tennessee basketball fixture Henry Farrar, who currently resides in Yorkville...Huntingdon's Roy Dill is one of the 14 officials working this year's state tournament...HHS principal Steve Peery worked the state tournament as an official in the mid 1990s.