Blackman girls fall short of fourth consecutive trip to TSSAA state tournament

Reaching the TSSAA girls state basketball tournament is all that Blackman senior guard Kaelyn Flowers had known during her career.

The Florida Gulf Coast signee fought back tears describing that run and how close the Lady Blaze were to reaching a fourth consecutive trip to MTSU's Murphy Center.

"It's been a blessing to be part of this program," said Flowers, whose Lady Blaze dropped a 40-38 decision to Cleveland in the Class 4A sectional Saturday night at Blackman. "It's such an elite program, and to be coached by (Jennifer) Grandstaff is truly amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better four years anywhere else."

The loss ends a streak of three consecutive state tournament appearances for the Lady Blaze, who began the run with a Class AAA state championship in 2021.

Blackman (18-9) had a game-winning shot attempt from just over half court at the end. Cleveland (23-9) will play in the Class 4A state tournament for the first time since 2008.

The game went back and forth throughout the second half, but it was a second-quarter stretch that Blackman would like to have back.

Blackman girls basketball struggled after momentum swing

An 8-0 run by Cleveland over the final 2-to-3 minutes of the second period took what was massive early momentum away from the Lady Blaze. Blackman and Cleveland swapped leads several times after halftime, but the loss of that early momentum took its toll.

Blackman jumped out to an 11-1 lead early and held a 19-11 advantage late in the second quarter. But Cleveland had a four-point possession and later took used a Lady Blaze technical foul to ultimately tie things 19-19 at halftime.

"They amped up the pressure and did a good job guarding our dribble handoffs and ball screens," Grandstaff said. "They challenged every shot. We had a hard time making a bucket in the second quarter. It caught up with us."

Blackman, which scored just four points in the second quarter, trailed by three at the end of the third. A big 3-pointer by Amirah Herring gave the hosts a 37-34 lead late, but Cleveland answered quickly with a 3-pointer and the Lady Blaze scored just one point the remainder of the game.

"We wanted to key on (Flowers and junior guard Lyriq Mastin) ... those two are shooting about 90% of their shots," said Cleveland coach Bianca Hensley, a former Stewarts Creek coach. "We wanted to force them to pass the ball or take contested shots."

Mastin finished with 15 and Flowers 12, combining for 27 of the team's 38 points.

Callie Brewer led a balanced Cleveland attack with 12 points.

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Grandstaff has taken Blackman to the sectional in each of her four seasons after state tournament trips the first three. This edition's run might have been the most improbable, considering some of the starters who had graduated from a year ago and the injuries that plagued the squad all season long.

"She really just keyed in on what we had and used it to the best of our ability," Flowers said. "We started gelling together late in the year. She's able to coach the best team or the worst. She just gets it done."