Lady Jackets Suffer 2 OT Substate Loss to Cloudland
By Terry Futrell
Facing a team with a height advantage, amazing speed, and a smothering, full-court defense that totally shut down Coalfield’s outside shooting, the Lady Jackets put forth a valiant effort against the Cloudland Lady Highlanders in substate basketball action Saturday evening. Coalfield came from behind in the game to tie Cloudland and force the game into overtime. In an about face, the Lady Highlanders came from behind in overtime to tie the Lady Jackets and force a second overtime. At this point, effort simply wasn’t enough for the Lady Jackets, and Cloudland closed out a hard-fought 53-49 victory to advance to the state tournament in Murfreesboro.
The game kicked off in John Jackson Memorial Gymnasium with Coalfield getting on the board first. Cloudland immediately responded to tie the score. The Lady Jackets then appeared to be shocked by the ferocity of the Cloudland defense, and the Lady Highlanders built a 9-2 lead in the first minute and a half of play. Coach Ronnie Wilson quickly settled his players down and they responded by trimming Cloudland’s lead to 16-13 with 25 seconds remaining in the period. Cloudland closed out the quarter with an additional basket and an 18-13 lead. Jayleigh Bunch led the Lady Jackets with six points in the quarter and Kadence Jackson added five points. Karah Fields led the Lady Highlanders with seven points and Kendall Birchfield scored five points.
The second quarter was much the same, with Coalfield outscoring Cloudland by two points. Jackson poured in eight more points for the Lady Jackets and Alexis Morrison added three points. Ella Benfield stepped up for the Lady Highlanders and scored all nine of their points in the quarter by working inside against Coalfield’s defense.
The third quarter can best be summed up with one word, “defense,” as each team scored only one basket in the period, Cloudland successfully shot four free throws to take a 6-2 scoring advantage in the quarter and expanded their lead to 33-26 at the end of three.
Cloudland immediately expanded their lead to ten points in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Jackets refused to go down without a fight. Coalfield trimmed Cloudland’s lead to 36-31 midway through the period and tied the score at 39-39 with 58 seconds remaining, outscoring the Lady Highlanders 13-6. Neither team added to their score and the game was tied 39-39 at the end of regulation play. Gabbi Lowe and Morrison each scored six points for Coalfield in the quarter. Benfield and Fields each scored three points for Cloudland.
Coalfield took an early lead in the first overtime period and led Cloudland 45-42 with 57 seconds to go. The Lady Highlanders tied the score at 46-46 with 34 seconds to go. Neither team could score again, forcing a second overtime.
Cloudland took a one-point lead 47-46 with 2:33 remaining in overtime. Coalfield responded by taking the lead 48-47 with 1:49 remaining. Cloudland took the lead for the final time at 49-48 with 1:23 on the clock and held on for a 53-49 victory.
Cloudland’s Birchfield led all scorers with 21 points, and Fields added 10 points for the Lady Highlanders. Jackson led Coalfield scorers with 14 points. Morrison added 13 points and Bunch contributed 11 points.
With the win, Cloudland advances to the state tournament to face Wayne County on Thursday. For the Lady Jackets, it was a bittersweet ending to a very successful season that culminated with the Region 2-1A championship, their first since 2010.
