Clarksville, TN – On paper, the Rossview Lady Hawks and the Mt. Juliet Lady Bears look a lot alike. They both have smothering defenses, smart guards and a dominating post game.
As a result, the Region 5-AAA Tournament Championship game at Rossview Wednesday, February 26th, a showdown between two district number one seeds, came down to which team executed their game better.
“To beat a team like Mt. Juliet you have got to play your best game. I don’t really feel like we played our best game tonight,” Lady Hawks head coach Justin Woods said. “I thought we played hard, but we didn’t make shots that we normally make. There were just little plays that we normally make, that we didn’t make.”
Lady Bears’ Ronjaneae DeGray and Sally McCabe combined for 38 points in the paint, and pulled down 11 boards. DeGray led all scorers with 23 points.
DeGray and McCabe scored 17 of the Lady Bears first 19 points, establishing a Lady Bears’ 10-point lead after one period.
The Lady Hawks played from behind the rest of the game. Their defensive pressure helped them rally to close the gap several times. At halftime they trailed the Lady Bears by only two points and with 3:24 left in the game, they were behind by only five points, 53-48.
However, despite generating late turnovers and creating open looks, the Lady Hawks could not make the baskets to close the gap and get the win.
“The thing I love about this group is that effort is never an issue. I know they are going to give me everything they have every time they go out there,“ Woods said.
“We got down a couple times and we just kept fighting. We had some opportunities down the stretch . They turned it over three or four straight times and we just came down and couldn’t get anything to go in to the basket.”
Down 53-40, the Lady Hawks opened the final period with an 8-0 run that ended with a 3-pointer by Ashley Powers with just over three minutes left in the game.
Over the next two minutes, the Lady Hawks created four Lady Bears’ turnovers, but they failed to score. With 1:25 remaining they were forced to start fouling. The Lady Bears sealed the win shooting 8-of-10 from the free throw line.
White and Powers were named to the Region 5-AAA All Tournament team.
As the Region 5-AAA Tournament Runner-up, the Lady Hawks will travel to play Overton, Saturday, March 1st.
“The thing that I like about this group is that they hate to lose,” Woods said. “I said, remember this feeling and lets go take it out on Overton Saturday.”
Photo Gallery
Box Score
Mt. Juliet 61, Rossview 49
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Mt. Juliet Lady Bears | 19 | 10 | 24 | 8 | 61 |
| Rossview Lady Hawks | 9 | 18 | 13 | 9 | 49 |
Mt. Juliet
Ronjanae DeGray 23, Sally McCabe 15, Rae DeGray 14, Skye Riggan 4, Tyia Waller 2, Ashley Roby 3
Rossview
Janie White 14, Ashley Powers 9, Karle Pace 8, Mickey Head 12, Jemiah Harrison 3, Haylee Croom 3
Region 5-AAA All Tournament Team
Rossview – Janie White, Ashley Powers
Mt. Juliet – Sally McCabe, Ronjanae DeGray, Ashley Roby
Beech – Falon Baker
Hendersonville – Peyton Sheehan
