NEWPORT, Tenn. – With their season on the line in a Region 1-AAA quarterfinal game on Friday night, the Tennessee High girls basketball team saved its best for last.
The Lady Vikings rallied to post a 50-47 victory against Cocke County that moved them into the region semifinals.
Tennessee High (26-3) will face Sullivan Central Monday at 6 p.m. at Dobyns-Bennett High School. The Lady Cougars advanced Friday night with a win against Jefferson County in Blountville.
Trailing 38-34 with 4:45 to play in Friday’s contest, Tennessee High outscored Cocke County 16-9 the rest of the way, fueled by a game-changing span of consecutive turnovers by the Lady Red.
Blakeley Burleson was the biggest hero for the Lady Vikings down the stretch, scoring five consecutive points that put her team in the lead for the first time since the second quarter.
The 5-foot-6 sophomore drilled a three-point basket from the corner and then made a steal and score 16 seconds apart to put Tennessee High in the lead over the Lady Red (24-8) with 4:20 to play.
Burleson’s performance down the stretch personified a determination by the Lady Vikings, who did not want to see their season end Friday night. Burleson finished with a game-high 14 points.
“I could never tell that our kids we weren’t going to win,” Tennessee High coach Barry Wade said. “From the time we got off the bus, throughout the game the kids were telling me we were going to win.
“We went on the road and beat a good basketball team. This was on our kids; they played their butts off.”
The two teams battled back and forth during the final four minutes, which saw eight lead changes.
Tennessee High took a 46-45 lead with 1:49 remaining on two Danielle Montgomery free throws, but Shannon Depew put her Lady Red team back in front with a jumper with 32 seconds remaining.
Burleson again came up big when her team needed a basket.
The sophomore drove to the basket, drew a foul by Cocke County’s Jalese Pruitt and drilled both free throws to put her team up 48-47 with 23.9 seconds to play.
A steal by Montgomery, who then made one of two free-throw attempts, put the Lady Vikings up by 49-47 with 10.7 seconds remaining. Depew had a pair of clean looks for a go-ahead basket play, but could not finish. Sarah Baker made one-of-two free-throws for a three-point lead, but Cocke County’s final shot was well shy of the target.
Both teams had to overcome poor shooting nights to win the game. The Lady Vikings were 15-of-57 from the field, but did hit a trio of three-point baskets. Cocke County was 14-of-44 from the field and continued a poor season of outside shooting by going 0-of-8 from three-point range.
“We have had to do that before,” Wade said. “We don’t shoot that well. The last two games, we shot 35 percent and 42 percent. Tonight, we just took care of the ball.”
Cocke County was forced into 19 turnovers, including five from senior Courtney Lewis, who turned the ball over three times during Tennessee High’s late run.
“Take our turnovers out and take care of the basketball and it’s a different story,” Cocke County first-year coach Wade Wester said. “That’s a great Tennessee High team, a well-coached team. Give it up to them, they made plays.”
Montgomery finished with 11 points for Tennessee High. Pruitt and Allie Sprouse each scored 11 points for Cocke County.
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