Class 4A Girls State Opening Round

Ahh! What a sensational feeling in the air. Day 1 of the state tournament if finally here. Walking into the glass house, you get that electric feeling going through your body. The smells of the concession stand, the pageantry of the fans, it's game day baby! This is what it is all about.   To start the tournament off, the 4A class got down to business. Talk about tough battles each and every possession. Here is a recap of day 1 at the Murphy Center at the State Tournament.   To kick off the morning session, the Bartlett Lady Panthers vs. the Sevier Co. Smoky Bears was a goodie. Sevier came into the game with something to prove. They are the new kids on the block, a squad who has a balanced attack. They got on the board early, coming out firing on all cylinders. They went into the half up 23-21. You could tell at the break that the Lady Panthers reconvened and got back to the basics. Led by senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='290717' first='Carrington' last='Jones'], the Lady Panthers' stifling defense stepped it up in the second half. It turned into an inside game where the mission was to attack the basket. The Lady Panthers were just too much in the second half. They won this game 54-42 and advanced to the next round.   Key Players   Sevier Co.   [player_tooltip player_id='877807' first='Kinley' last='Loveday'] (11 pts, 3 rebs)   [player_tooltip player_id='290720' first='Aubree' last='Laney'] (9 pts, 2 rebs, 2 assists)   [player_tooltip player_id='631090' first='Cybil' last='Penland'] (9 pts, 4 rebs)   [player_tooltip player_id='821733' first='Kaliyah' last='Burden'] (4 pts, 11 rebs, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 blk)   Bartlett   [player_tooltip player_id='290717' first='Carrington' last='Jones'] (20 pts, 2 rebs, 2 assists, 6 steals)   [player_tooltip player_id='409005' first='Zoey' last='Rixter'] (12 pts, 9 rebs, 3 blks)   [player_tooltip player_id='625399' first='Morgan' last='Williams'] (8 pts, 3 rebs, 2 steals)   Samiya Jones (8 pts, 7 rebs)   The second game of the day saw a battle of two blue and red clubs. The Lady Falcons of Lincoln Co. battled against the Lady Raiders of Cleveland. The Lady Raiders came out the gate on fire and never looked back. They were hitting clutch shots from the arc, finishing put back opportunities, placed emphasis on rebounding, eliminating second chance opportunities. Junior star [player_tooltip player_id='409019' first='Lauren' last='Hurst'] kicked it into another gear, scoring 20 points from all over the hardwood. You could tell she was on a mission for sure. [player_tooltip player_id='810533' first='Alyssa' last='Petty'] did her best to bring back the Lady Falcons. Shooting from the arc, displaying an impressive paint game, she was finding the bottom of the cup at a consistent clip. The Lady Raiders were just too much down the stretch and they held on to win 60-44.   Key Players   Cleveland   [player_tooltip player_id='409019' first='Lauren' last='Hurst'] (20 pts, 11 rebs, 3 assists)   [player_tooltip player_id='899415' first='Ilianis' last='Rodriguez'] (10 pts, 4 rebs, 1 steal)   [player_tooltip player_id='804739' first='Callie' last='Brewer'] (10 pts, 3 rebs)   Lincoln Co.   [player_tooltip player_id='810533' first='Alyssa' last='Petty'] ( 16 pts, 4 rebs, 3 steals)   [player_tooltip player_id='496294' first='Abby' last='Bryan'] (11 pts, 8 rebs)   The third game of the day saw the Coffee Co. Red Raiders vs.Dobyns Bennett Lady Indians. The CC attack was just too much right from the start. They played with physicality early and picked their spots to score. They took a big lead in the first 22-9 and never looked back. They killed it in the paint, using [player_tooltip player_id='409035' first='Channah' last='Gannon'] and guard [player_tooltip player_id='514120' first='Natalie' last='Barnes'] was able to get down hill and finish. Sr. guard Kaydance Black tried to bring her club back hitting some clutch 3s down the stretch. However, the Red Raiders slowed it down, played with poise, as well as pace and space down the stretch. They win this game 48-39.   Key Players   Coffee Co.   [player_tooltip player_id='514120' first='Natalie' last='Barnes'] (18 pts, 2 rebs)   Channa Gannon (12 pts, 7 rebs, 2 assists, 3 blks)   Dobyns Bennett   Caroline Hill (11pts, 3 rebs)   Kaydance Black (11 pts, 4 assists)   The Last 4a game of the day saw the Bradley Central Lady Bearettes take on the Lady Wildcats from Clarksville. All-American [player_tooltip player_id='245352' first='Imari' last='Berry'] had been wanting to get back to state all year, but Tatianna Stovall, who I might add had been drawing tough defensive assignments all year, was ready for this. Stovall was a beast on the defensive end, eliminating any potential run Imari could go on. With her ability to slow down Berry on the defensive end, the Lady Bearetts were able to grab the boards, push it in transition, and found easy buckets in the paint. [player_tooltip player_id='513228' first='Kimora' last='Fields'] was dominant around the rim. If they had to run sets, their coach found the mismatch and used any of his fab 4 to exploit their weakness. Often, they would run sets to post up [player_tooltip player_id='290719' first='Harmonie' last='Ware'] in the paint. The Bradley attack was just too much and they never looked back. The final score was Bradley 62, Clarksville 30.   Key Players   Clarksville   [player_tooltip player_id='245352' first='Imari' last='Berry'] (14 pts, 5 rebs)   [player_tooltip player_id='810489' first='Malon' last='Smith'] (5pts, 2 rebs)   Bradley Central   [player_tooltip player_id='513228' first='Kimora' last='Fields'] (22pts, 13 rebs, 2 stls)   [player_tooltip player_id='290719' first='Harmonie' last='Ware'] (14 pts, 9 rebs, 3 stls)   [player_tooltip player_id='409074' first='Avary' last='Brewer'] (9 pts, 3 assists, 2 stls)   Tatianna Stovall (8 pts, 7 rebs, 3 assists)

Ahh! What a sensational feeling in the air. Day 1 of the state tournament if finally here. Walking into the glass house, you get that electric feeling going through your body. The smells of the concession stand, the pageantry of the fans, it's game day baby! This is what it is all about.