GIRLS HOOPS: Vikings dominate Cougars for 12th straight regional berth

Last year, Sullivan Central was stunned in the first round of the District 1-AAA girls basketball tournament.

On Tuesday, the Cougars were simply stomped.

No. 2 Tennessee High held the No. 7 Cougars scoreless in the second quarter for a 27-5 halftime lead and cruised to a 56-30 triumph to end Central’s season.

“We came out really focusing on defense and we know when we get down the road that’s going to win games for us,” said Tennessee High senior center McKenzie Dickson, who scored 11 points as the only player on either team to reach double figures in a game that featured poor shooting from both sides.

While Central (11-18) will miss regionals for the second straight year after losing to Volunteer by a point in its 2011 district tourney opener, Tennessee High’s victory advanced the Vikings (25-4) to the district semifinals and secured the powerhouse program a regional berth for the 12^th consecutive season.

“We’re just trying to keep the tradition alive,” said Vikings coach Barry Wade.

Sullivan Central’s second quarter was about as bad it can get for a team as the Cougars missed all 11 of their field goals, bricked a pair of free throws and committed five turnovers. At halftime, Central had coughed up the ball 15 times as Tennessee High went into the break on a 26-3 run.

“They took some bad shots, but we played fairly well defensively,” said Wade, whose team beat the Cougars by an eerily similar 56-31 final when they met during the regular season in Blountville on Dec. 12.

Central ended the game shooting just 7 of 44 (15.9 percent), making Tennessee High’s own shaky 20-of-62 night (32.2 percent) look comparatively stellar.

“Playing a team like Tennessee High, you have to be at your best,” said Central coach Gary Surcey. “You’re not going to win many ballgames shooting like that.”

Central was a snakebitten squad all season, losing six Big Eight Conference games by four points or less, including an overtime defeat and two setbacks by a single point.

With the frustration of so many narrow losses and the dismal first half Tuesday, Surcey said he was proud his team at least showed some fight in their final two quarters of the season.

“It’s been a season where we could have hung our heads many times, but we didn’t,” he said. “We might have felt sorry for ourselves a few minutes there, but at halftime we regrouped and played like we were capable of playing.”

By then it was far too late for a Central victory, but there was a late bright spot for the Cougars as senior Madi Phillippie broke the 1,000-point mark for her career in her last game.

Phillippie managed just one field goal, but hit 6 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter to lead Central with nine points on the night and finish her career with 1,001.

Tennessee High got a balanced scoring effort with nine players scoring between three and the game-high 11 points contributed by Dickson.

Dickson continued her surge as her senior season winds down, again making a number of nice catches coupled with strong post moves to accumulate her points and scoring in each quarter Tuesday.

“It’s coming down to the end and it’s just setting in,” Dickson said. “I guess all of us are realizing how we’re wanting to play and playing hard.”

A pair of freshman, Kelsey Stoops and Sydney Mitchell, also continued to make an impact as subs for the Vikings, scoring eight and seven points, respectively, in their first postseason action.

“Those two kids come off the bench and can score and can rebound and that gives you a spark,” Wade said. “They play hard-nosed defense, too, and that’s what we like about them.”

Tennessee High will next take on No. 3 Daniel Boone in the district tournament semifinals Friday at 7:30 p.m. back at Central. Boone (18-9) defeated No. 6 Dobyns-Bennett 47-38 Tuesday on the strength of a 9-0 run to start the final period after the Indians led 31-30 after three quarters.

The Vikings, who beat the Trailblazers by 20 and 12 points in their two regular-season meetings, will be looking to make their third straight district final after splitting the past two tournament championship games with Science Hill.

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