Chiefs still hold 5-AA top seed, but ugly loss at Loudon prevents history

Sequoyah’s chance at the program’s first-ever perfect district finish turned to ashes on the pyre after its punchless 74-55 loss to Loudon, and the Chiefs settled for the regular-season split.

“No energy, lack of effort and no want-to,” said Sequoyah coach Daniel Curtis after the game. “We get a chance to go 8-0 for the first time in school history and we just … I felt like I was going to a funeral in the locker room.”

Kody Hampton scored a game-high 27 points, including four 3-pointers, for Sequoyah (12-11, 7-1 District 5-AA). The Chiefs were playing their second straight game without Braden Strickland, who is out for the rest of the season after meniscus surgery.

Hampton got little help aside from Will Phillips, Sequoyah’s only other double-digit scorer with 10.

Despite the loss, the Chiefs will still be the No. 1 seed in the District 5-AA tournament, regardless of any games they and Loudon (12-11, 6-1) win or lose the rest of the regular season. Aside from district opponents, the two schools’ common opponents to determine the tiebreaker were Tellico Plains and Kingston.

Their respective series versus Tellico proved to be the difference, with Sequoyah sweeping the Bears, but Loudon getting swept by the same. Moreover, the Redskins split with Kingston to finish 1-3 against out-of-district common opponents. Even if the Chiefs should lose Monday at Kingston, they would finish 2-2 against that same slate and get the tiebreaker.

But Tuesday night belonged to the Redskins, starting with a 10-2 run to close the first quarter up 17-9.

The Chiefs rallied back to within a point, 20-19, in the middle of the second quarter after a Seth Schaffer 3 and Hampton going coast-to-coast for a layup plus the foul. But Hampton missed the free throw, and Sequoyah never threatened to lead again.

Hampton did his best to keep Sequoyah within sight with two straight treys, but Skylar Mills hit an unlikely prayer from long range at the halftime buzzer to push Loudon’s lead to 36-28 at the break and give the Redskins all the momentum.

Loudon went up by double-digits early in the third quarter, and four Sequoyah turnovers helped the Redskins build a 52-38 lead heading into the fourth. Loudon built its advantage to as much as 20 in the final period.

LADY CHIEFS 45, LADY REDSKINS 31: Sequoyah and Loudon were probably locked in the District 5-AA semifinal matchup against each other already regardless of what happened Tuesday night.

But for the Lady Chiefs (13-10, 6-2 District 5-AA), it was all about getting the mental edge.

“Coming in, this was a very important game for us, even if when it comes to the district tournament next week it really doesn’t matter because we play them again,” said Sequoyah coach Eddie Gambrell. “But it was about the mental part of it. Coming in, playing them on their own floor. And with these girls, the mental aspect of basketball is 90 percent of it.”

And Sequoyah showed its edge Tuesday, scoring the last nine points of the contest to put away Loudon (10-15, 3-4) for the series sweep and claim the district’s No. 2 seed.

Loudon ended the first quarter on a 7-0 burst to lead 16-14, but the Lady Chiefs never let the Lady Redskins lead by more than four and eventually retook the lead with 1:46 left as part of its own seven unanswered to close a period. Haley Isbill kept it going with a putback.

Laura Whited, who was hitting the mid-range elbow jumper all night en route to a game-high 14 points, sank one at the halftime buzzer to give Sequoyah a 25-20 lead at halftime.

The Lady Chiefs led by as much as nine in the third quarter but missed their last five shots of that stanza to let Loudon hang around down only 33-28 at its end.

Sequoyah’s Savana Atchley and Loudon’s Mariah Small exchanged 3-pointers to start the fourth. Small’s shot was all the points the Lady Redskins would score in the final frame as the Lady Chiefs boxed out Loudon’s Aspen Jordan away from the offensive glass and drew fouls on her.

Jordan only mustered 10 points before fouling out in the final minute.

Meanwhile, Emily Ingram came alive with a baseline jumper to get Sequoyah back up by seven, then scored again on a runout and then a cut to the hoop to put it out of reach.

“We went through dome dry spells there, but when we needed to make some defensive stops in the fourth, we did,” Gambrell said. “When we needed to make some bucket in the fourth, we did.”

Boys

LOUDON 74, SEQUOYAH 55

S    9    19    10    17    —    55

L    17    19    16    22    —    74

LOUDON: JA Norton 18, Jack Nichols 16, Tyler Ferguson 11, Jacob Arden 9, Jesse Smallen 7, Zach Gillis 4, Skylar Mills 4, RT McBride 2, Bryce Jackson 2, Logan McDonald 1

SEQUOYAH: Kody Hampton 27, Will Phillips 10, Seth Schaffer 7, Brandon Smith 5, Austin Harmon 2, Dylan Russell 2, Dylan Moses 2

3-POINTERS: L 4 (Norton, Ferguson, Smallen, Mills); S 7 (Hampton 4, Phillips 2, Schaffer)

Girls

SEQUOYAH 45, LOUDON 31

S    14    11    8    12    —    45

L    16    4    8    3    —    31

SEQUOYAH: Laura Whited 14, Savana Atchley 10, Emily Ingram 10, Emilie Harrell 7, Haley Isbill 2, Lynsey Miller 2

LOUDON: Mariah Small 12, Aspen Jordan 10, Rachel Kelley 5, Jessica Malone 4

3-POINTERS: S 1 (Atchley); L 3 (Small 2, Kelley)