On Thursday Greeneville's Lauren Bailey was named a finalist for Class 3A's Miss Basketball, and on Friday she came out of the gate hot, helping the Lady Devils jump on top of Science Hill early before they ran away to a 66-38 victory.
Lady Devils Head Coach Anette Watts said, “It all starts with Lauren Bailey, when she gets going we get going”.
Bailey scored 12 points in the first quarter, but then picked up her second foul as the first quarter neared it’s end and had to take a seat on the bench. The period came to a close with the Lady Devils up on the Lady Hilltoppers 20-6.
In the second quarter with Bailey on the bench it was up to her supporting cast to try and build on their lead. The Lady Devils in fact were able to add to the lead by having six players find their way into the scoring column and lead reached 35-15 at the half.
To open the second half point guard Anna Shaw picked up her third foul and found herself on the bench. That put Bailey to run the point on offense. While on defense she stepped in front of an errant pass and dished Chloe Marsh for and-one layup. Her free throw was good and the Lady Devils were up 38-15.
Kristen Heaton nailed back-to-back triples to give the Lady Toppers hope, but those hopes were quickly dashed when Kyla Jobe dropped a triple of her own. Jobe then went out to play the point and found Bailey from the top of the key for the dagger.
After three quarters Greeneville led 51-28.
Coach Watts said, “Playing three or four at the point is no accident. The way we play we’re going to get in foul trouble so we practice three and four at the point."
The fourth quarter was just a formality at this point and the Lady Devils went on to a 66-38 win.
The Lady Devils put nine players into the score book, three in double figures. Bailey led the way with 18 points while Marsh had 12 and Jobe 10. The Lady Toppers did not have a scorer in double figures but did place eight in the scoring column.
Greeneville
Bailey 18, Marsh 12, Jobe 10, Ellenburg 4, Carter 7,Shaw 7, Martin 4, Gray 2, Adkins 2
Science Hill
Stevens 6, Green 5, Heaton 6, Whitney 8, Crowe 5, Pace 4, Patton 2, Adams 2
BOYS
Science Hille 38, Greeneville 36
The Greeneville boys did not fare as well as the girls, losing a heartbreaker 38-36 after trailing most of the game. Science Hill's Jayson Swartz opened the game with a triple from the corner and ended it at the free throw line with just .5 seconds on the game clock.
After Swartz triple in the first quarter the Science Hill got another triple by Daniel Nerren and the Hilltoppers were up 6-0. Greeneville didn’t get their first points until 2:55 to go in the first quarter when Jayquan Price sank a three-pointrer from the elbow. The Toppers were also cold and couldn’t score either. Isaac McGill tied the score with a deep three from the corner and Trey Thompson put the Devils up 8-6 with a spinning layup as the quarter came to a close.
As the second quarter got underway both teams were still cold from the floor but the Hill Toppers' Emmett Watson completed an old-fashioned-three-point play to give Science Hill a 15-11 lead. Carter Skeen hit a triple from the top of the key just seconds later for an 18-11 lead with 1:50 to go until halftime. Price would cut the score to 18-13 at the half.
At the start of the second half both teams were shooting still cold as ice, with the Greene Devils a little colder. Skeen made two free throws to give the Toppers their biggest lead at 22-15 . McGill hit a triple from the elbow to cut the lead to 22-18 at the 4:45 mark before going scoreless for the next three minutes. Thompson had to work hard for back-to-back layups to bring the Devils within two at 24-22, and the quarter would end at 26-22 in favor of the Toppers.
Greeneville's Zayden Anderson rattled home a three from the corner as the fourth quarter started to make the score 26-25, but the Toppers quickly answered with a Noah Ratliff basket.
Mason Wood got a bucket in transition and then a three-point play the hard way to put the Toppers 33-27 at the 5:40 mark. Thompson found Anderson for a short jumper just before Adjatay Dabbs was left all alone in the corner for three that brought the Devils back to within one point at 33-32 with 4:14 to play.
Greeneville took it’s first lead since the first quarter with a Thompson tip-in at 34-33.
Skeen then nailed a three from the corner to give the lead back to the Toppers, but a spin move and a layup off the glass by Thompson knotted the score at 36-36 with 36 seconds left in regulation.
After a couple of timeouts by the Hilltoppers Price came up with a steal with 11 seconds to play. Greeneville called time out to set up a final play. Dabbs shot rimmed out and a scrap for the ball ensued. The Devils were whistled for a foul with no time on the clock. The officials gathered at halfcourt and determined that one half of a second was left in the game and Swartz was at the line for a one-and-one.
Swartz first shot rattled around and fell through to the give the Toppers the lead. His second shot was also good and Science Hill escaped with a win over their long time rivals 38-36.
Coach Brad Woolsey later said, “That last possession was on me and we didn’t get a great look. Maybe I should have taken a timeout. After the miss a guy trying to make a hustle play, you know I’ll take that, a hustle play, every time. The first and second quarters really hurt us and it’s a multitude of factors”.
Greeneville
Thompson 12, Price 7, Dabbs 4, Anderson 5, McGill 6, Lester 2
Science Hill
Skeen 8, Young 2, Swartz 7, Guimond 2, Ratliff 8, Trusy 3, Watson 5, Wood 3
