Cloudland’s Saharra McKinney (22) throws a pass to a teammate over the Sunbright defense during Saturday’s Class 1A sectional game at Sonny Smith Gymnasium.Â
Cloudland coach Matt Birchfield cuts down the net in Sonny Smith Gymnasium after winning Saturday’s Class 1A sectional over Sunbright 38-30.Â
Ivan Sanders
Cloudland’s Saharra McKinney (22) throws a pass to a teammate over the Sunbright defense during Saturday’s Class 1A sectional game at Sonny Smith Gymnasium.Â
ROAN MOUNTAIN — For 27 minutes on Saturday at Sonny Smith Gymnasium, Cloudland and Sunbright clawed and scratched defensively to earn the right to be one of the final eight teams in the Class 1A BlueCross Girls Basketball Championships in Murfreesboro.
The final five minutes were the difference.
The Lady Highlanders found the offensive separation needed to stamp the ticket for their third appearance in the last four years with an emotional 38-30 victory.
The game was reminiscent of a female version of the movie "Hoosiers" as fans were stuffed in every nook and corner as well as standing room only on the sidelines with the only open space being the rafters over the gym floor.
And the fans got their money's worth and more.
The teams battled to a 15-12 Lady 'Landers lead by the halftime after both defenses were aggressive in keeping a low-scoring game.
Izabella Christman led Cloudland in the half with six points battling hard in the middle. Makinna Shell had four and Makenzie Street dropped a 3-pointer for coach Matt Birchfield's team.
Shannon Freels and Addison Shannon each netted a long 3-ball for the Lady Tigers.
Sunbright outscored Cloudland 10-9 in the third quarter, pulling within two, 24-22, heading into the final eight minutes.
The Lady Tigers then grabbed a 25-24 lead with a little more than five minutes left before the Lady Highlanders settled in like the senior team they are. Ryan Turbyfill nailed 7 of 8 shots from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.
"Our defense was really going for us in the first half, we just couldn't get our offense going," Turbyfill said. "It was so important because I always say that foul shots wins ballgames and if it wasn't for Jasmine Birchfield I wouldn't have worked so hard at the foul line. I couldn't have dreamed of a better season."
Turbyfill finished with a game-high 14 points. Shell contributed with eight, and senior Saharra McKinney — a stabilizer in all phases of the game — added seven. Christman chipped in with six.
Shannon led Sunbright with 12 points. Freels added six.
"It was a great atmosphere with our community and man what a night. There's no better feeling than to play a home game," Coach Birchfield said. "I think a game like this is big. You need a game like this because when you get down there, all eight teams down there is good. Its tough at this level and you have to make your free throws"
Cloudland (27-1) will face Pickett County (26-2) in the Class A tournament at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center. Pickett County won 90-55 over Copper Basin (17-10) to advance.
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