OOLTEWAH — After weathering the storm of having more turnovers than made baskets in the opening half, Walker Valley galloped down the back stretch to advance to their first Region 3-4A semifinal in 13 years, Friday evening at East Hamilton.
"Great comeback. We took a little chance on some things and it worked out," praised first-year Lady Mustang head coach Paul Sausville after the exciting 52-45 come-from-behind victory.
"Kia Young, just a freshman, really came through with some big buckets and Sariyah (Cox), who we didn't think was going to get to play because she hurt her ankle in practice, did a great job in the second half of shutting down No. 22 (Nia Woodruff), who had killed up (for 13 points) in the first half.
"We told Chloe (Poe) and Jalaya (Lindsey) we're just going to keep putting the ball in your hands, so just keep making plays," he said of the senior duo that combined for 16 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Going where they haven't gone since 2011, Walker Valley (16-13) will take on District 5-4A champion Cleveland (21-8) in Monday's region Final Four, at Jim Smiddy Arena.
The Lady Raiders cruised to the semis with a 78-21 plundering of Howard Friday and will face the Herd in the 7:30 nightcap Monday.
The other semifinal finds nationally-ranked and defending state champion host Bradley Central (28-1) taking on District 5 runner up Rhea County (16-16) at 6.
The District 6 champ Bearettes had little trouble with McMinn County (14-13) in an 89-35 blowout Friday, while the Lady Eagles ended the season for Ooltewah (15-12) by a 47-38 margin.
LADY MUSTANGS 52
LADY HURRICANES 45
District 6 runner-up East Hamilton (21-13) opened with back-to-back 3-pointers, forcing Coach Sausville to call a timeout just 58 ticks into the contest.
Walker Valley finally got on the scoreboard in a drive by junior Maliyah Woods a minute later before she did the same a little later to close the gap to just two points.
The hosts pulled back up 11-4 before the Herd galloped to a 6-0 run to pull within a point before the Lady Hurricanes got an old-fashioned three-point play with just 10 seconds on the clock for a 14-10 edge at the horn.
The Storm blew out to an eight-point edge with the first wo buckets of the second period.
Once again Walker Valley answered, this time with five straight points, but East Ham finished the frame with an 11-5 run for a 29-20 edge at the intermission.
The host pushed their advantage to their highest point with at a dozen with a 5-2 short run to open the third frame.
With their season hanging in the balance, the Fillies got fired up, hitting the nylon for the final nine points of the period to one again pull within a possession (34-31).
After the host once again got the first basket of the final frame, the stampede started with a hoop-and-some harm on an offense putback by freshman Jakia Young.
East Ham answered with another bucket but then junior Savannah Hicks drained a 3-ball to spark 10-run to give the visitors the lead for the first time in the game and they never relinquished it.
Pushing their lead to 46-40 on another Young bucket in the paint on an inbound play, the Herd nailed down the upset victory by hitting a half dozen straight free throws in the final 100 seconds.
Young finished with 10 points, all in the second half, and five rebounds. Woods also finished in double-digits with 10 markers.
Senior Chloe Poe helped out with nine points, five assists and four caroms.
Classmate Madison Bischof collected eight points and Jayla Lindsey netted seven, cleared eight ricochets and handed out four "dimes."
Nia Woodruff led the way for East Ham with 20 points, while Maka yla Maddox added eight.
The Lady Hurricanes posted 21 wins in former Bradley assistant coach Eric Baird's ingaural season as head coach.
Game Summary
Region 3-4A
Girls Tournament
Quarterfinals
Friday, Feb. 23
in Ooltewah
Walker Valley 10 10 11 21 — 52
East Hamilton 14 15 5 8 — 42
LADY MUSTANGS (52) — Kia Young 10, Maliyah Woods 10, Chloe Poe 9, Madison Bichof 8, Jalya Lindsey 7, Hicks 5, Cox 3, Pierce, Earls.
LADY HURRICANES (42) — Nia Woodruff 20, Makayla Maddox 10, Kailey Hilvert 8, Alexis Price 7, Cooper, James.
3-POINTERS: WV 3 (Poe, Hicks, Cox); EH 5 (Maddox 2, Hilvert 2, Price).
FREE THROWS: WV 11-of-14; EH 8-of-10.
RECORDS: Walker Valley 16-13; East Hamilton 21-13.
