February 25, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
The DCHS Lady Tigers will face 3rd ranked Upperman for the fourth time this season tonight (Monday) in the semi-finals of the Region 4AA basketball tournament at Crossville.
The winner not only advances to the Region Tournament Championship game Wednesday night but also earns a spot in the sub-state or sectionals.
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Game time is 7:30 p.m. from Cumberland County High School and WJLE will have LIVE coverage with the Voice of the Lady Tigers John Pryor.
WJLE’s Tiger talk will air at 7:15 p.m. as Pryor interviews Lady Tiger Coach Danny Fish and Lady Tiger seniors Lydia Brown, Maddison Parsley, and Joni Robinson.
DeKalb County (21-10) has yet to defeat Upperman (26-5) this season. In the previous meetings, DC lost to the Lady Bees 46 to 29 in Smithville on January 8, 62 to 40 at Baxter on February 1, and 36 to 28 in the District Tournament at Cookeville on February 15.
Lady Tiger Coach Fish explained what the recipe is for beating Upperman. “We have to make shots. I believe we need to come out and play aggressively and take the game to them offensively and defensively. We know to be the best you have to beat the best. Beating Cumberland County was a good start for us and now we get to play Upperman again so I know our girls are going to come out fighting. They gained a tremendous amount of confidence after the last game with Upperman,” said Coach Fish.
The Lady Tigers earned the right to face Upperman again after upsetting the 11th ranked Cumberland County Lady Jets (23-7) on their home court in overtime Friday night 67 to 66 in the quarterfinals.
Lady Tiger Joni Robinson’s buzzer beating three pointer at the end of regulation sent the game into overtime and from there DC outscored the Lady Jets 7 to 6 for the thrilling victory.
“It was a huge win for our program. I thought our kids were really focused that night and super aggressive defensively and offensively which boded well for us during the entire game. They stuck to the game plan and constantly worked hard. I thought we really made it tough on Gracee Dishman the entire game. Our kids were well prepared. They were prepared for the press. We knew what they (Lady Jets) were going to do and they did it but we found a way to make it work in our favor. The biggest thing is we knocked down shots. We would like to ride that momentum into tonight (Monday),” said Lady Tiger Coach Fish.
In the DC game Friday night, the Lady Tigers led 17 to 16 after the 1st period and 33 to 30 at halftime. Cumberland County grabbed a 43 to 41 lead after the 3rd period but the game was tied at 60 by the end of regulation. The Lady Tigers went on to win 67 to 66.
Lydia Brown led the Lady Tigers in scoring with 22, Kadee Ferrell 17, Emme Colwell 11, Mya Ruch 10, Joni Robinson 3, and Maddison Parsley and Kenzie France each with 2 points.
Miss Basketball finalist Gracee Dishman led the Lady Jets with 32 points, Addy Wilson 13, Jessica Hedgecoth 14, Alli Smith 5, and Sophie Smith 2.
In addition to DeKalb County’s win over Cumberland County, all other District 8 girls teams prevailed in the Region Tournament Friday as Upperman defeated Sequatchie County 69 to 30, Macon County upended Grundy County 83 to 35, and York Institute beat Bledsoe County 54 to 41.
Girls Region Tournament Schedule Monday, February 25:
Macon County vs York Institute: 6:00 p.m.
DeKalb County vs Upperman: 7:30 p.m.
The Region Tournament Championship game will be Wednesday, February 27 at 7 p.m.