The breakdown: Cheatham County takes round three, 9-AA title from Westmoreland

A highly-anticipated District 9-AA Tournament girls championship game lived up to expectations on Tuesday evening.

Cheatham County took the lead for good in the fourth quarter and held on for a 46-41 victory over Westmoreland at White House High School, in a battle between the top two seeds and two teams ranked in the top 10 of the final Associated Press Class AA statewide poll.

Breakdown of Tuesday’s championship game:

Records: Westmoreland 24-4, Cheatham County 26-2

Nuts and bolts: A game that was expected to be very close turned out to be that way for most of the contest. An even first half, which ended in an 18-18 tie at halftime, gave way to a big Westmoreland run to begin the third quarter. The Lady Eagles reeled off 11 consecutive points to begin the second half before surrendering an identical run from the Lady Cubs.

Turning point: That 11-0 run turned into a 15-0 run and put Cheatham County ahead for good, though the Lady Cubs couldn’t quite seal the game with free throws, missing five out of six in the final minute. Westmoreland failed to close, however, handing the Lady Cubs their second consecutive district title.

Leading scorers: Westmoreland: Karley Smith 16, Kaitlyn Norman 11, Peightyn Gross 5. Cheatham County: Emmy Nelson 13, Tiffany Smith 12, Josie Bumpus 11.

Quotable: “It was like a wake-up call (in the third quarter),” said Cheatham County’s Emmy Nelson, who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “This rivalry’s bigger than the ones in our county.

Next up: Both teams will host Region 5-AAA Tournament quarterfinal games on Friday evening. Cheatham County will host Maplewood, while Westmoreland will host Lipscomb Academy.

Reach Chris Brooks atcbrooks@tennessean.com or 615-575-7118 and on Twitter @CBrooksTN.