HIGH SCHOOL

Gatlinburg-Pittman rallies to claim Region 2-AA title

Troy Provost-Heron, USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee
Gatlinburg's Ivy Jones, left, Sophie Henry, center, and Kennedy Smith celebrate after defeating Fulton on Wednesday during the Region 2-AA finals Wednesday at Austin-East High School in Knoxville, Tennessee on Wednesday, March 1, 2017.

Keke McKinney caught the ball at the top of the key, took a step forward and drilled a long mid-range jumper on the opening possession of the fourth quarter to give Fulton High School a 32-22 lead, its largest of the night.

The Lady Falcons had been on the cusp of pulling away a few times Wednesday, but Gatlinburg-Pittman always had an answer. This time was no different.

With the Region 2-AA title and home-court advantage in Saturday’s sectional on the line, the No. 7 Lady Highlanders rattled off a 10-0 run to tie the game and got the eventual game-winning layup from Rylie Patterson with 10 seconds remaining to down No. 9 Fulton 36-34 at Austin-East.

“Honestly, we just tried really hard to pick up our defensive intensity,” Gatlinburg-Pittman coach Katie Moore said. “We started doubling the basketball and that caused a little chaos for them and forced them to turn the basketball over, and we finally started executing offensively.”

Gatlinburg-Pittman, which has won 12 straight games, will host the loser of Thursday’s Region 1-AA championship between Grainger and Greeneville, while Fulton will travel to play the winner.

“Winning the region is huge because it gives you that home-field advantage for the sub-state game,” Moore said. “The last two years, we’ve been sent to Elizabethton and we got upset up there. We’re really looking forward to getting the opportunity on our home floor.”

Cayla Powers drilled a 3-pointer with six minutes, 24 seconds left to play to jumpstart the Lady Highlanders rally. Neither team scored over the next two minutes following the three, but Gatlinburg-Pittman broke that with a free throw from Qua Hines.

Two free throws from Sophie Henry and a basket by Ivy Bales followed, and then Mariah Powers tied the game at 32 with 2:30 left to play. The fourth quarter was the only period that the Lady Highlanders scored double-digit points in.

“I wish I knew what happened,” Fulton coach John Fisher said. “We didn’t handle the ball well. Crazy things happen.”

McKinney quickly put Fulton back on top with a putback layup, but the Lady Falcons could not add to the lead.

Gatlinburg's Qua Hines, left, Lexi Bales, right and Kennedy Smith, back battle for rebound with Fulton's Keke McKinney (5) reach for a rebound during the Region 2-AA finals on Wednesday at Austin-East High School.

Henry split a pair of free throws at the line, and after a scoreless minute, an errant Fulton pass led to a wide-open fastbreak layup for Patterson, who was named tournament MVP.

The Lady Falcons never got its chance to retake the lead. After two consecutive fouls — the Lady Highlanders had four fouls to give — the Lady Falcons’ bench was issued a technical foul for arguing with the referees because of a timeout they were not granted before the game-altering turnover.

Gatlinburg's Qua Hines dribbles down the court during the Region 2-AA final against Fulton on Wednesday at Austin-East High School.
Fulton's Jalayah Manning (24) goes for a layup past Gatlinburg's Ivy Bales (30) during the Region 2-AA finals game between Gatlinburg-Pittman and Fulton at Austin-East High School in Knoxville, Tennessee on Wednesday, March 1, 2017.

“We had the ball, and I’m screaming timeout and my whole bench is screaming timeout, but we didn’t get a timeout,” Fisher said. “We turn it over right there and that gives them a layup. It is what it is.”

While none scored in double figures, nine different players scored for Gatlinburg-Pittman, led by eight-point performances from Bales, Henry and Hines. McKinney paced Fulton with 17 points.