Dresden gave up 3s, couldn't comeback

MURFREESBORO — One thing that Dresden coach Jonathan West said that he knew about Summertown was how well the Lady Eagles hit 3-pointers.

There were no surprises on Thursday in the Class A quarterfinals.

Summertown knocked down eight 3-pointers in the first half, and the Lady Lions struggled to come back in the second half as the Lady Eagles eliminated Dresden 64-52 at the Murphy Center.

"We were down 18 and lost by 12," Dresden coach Jonathan West said. "We knew they could shoot the ball, but we didn't know they would shoot it that well."

Summertown (26-9) advances to play South Greene on Friday in the semifinals, while Dresden ends the season at 28-8.

Dresden was led by Mary Grace Davis with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Kaitlyn Gallimore added eight points.

The first four shots that Summertown hit were 3-pointers as the Lady Eagles jumped out to a 12-2 lead.

Some of the problem at the beginning was nerves as Dresden made mistakes that aren't typical for them.

Summertown's eight 3-pointers in the first half put them four away from the state record for 3s in a game at 12. The Lady Eagles finished with nine 3-pointers.

"We had to close out on their 3-point shooters, but we were leaving them wide open and letting them shoot 'em," Davis said.

Summertown shot 54.2 percent from the field in the first half and built up an 18-point lead at halftime (36-18).

"I still thought that we could come back and win," Dresden senior Kasey Gallimore said. "Our coach told us that if we keep them from shooting 3s, we would be fine. We did a better job, but then they started hitting them in the paint. We couldn't guard both for some reason."

And the Lady Eagles came out with the first two baskets of the second half to take a 22-point lead.

Dresden could have given up and quit, but that is not how this Lady Lions' team has played this season.

They were ready to fight.

"That is what this team has done all year, they haven't quit," West said. "We kept saying that we got to keep fighting to give ourselves a chance. We started turning it around once we got down by 22 points. The difference in the first half was that our defense wasn't very good.

"We are not always the biggest, strongest, fastest. We always fought against every team. That showed a lot about our character. We turned it on instead of shutting down. We put ourselves within striking distance."

Dresden cut the lead down to 15 by the end of the third quarter, and with 4:59 to play, two free throws by Gallimore cut Summertown's lead to 11 points.

But the Lady Lions couldn't break through to single digits. Each time Dresden got close to the 10-point mark, Summertown had an answer.

Jenna Brazier led Summertown with 17 points, while Kaley Campbell added 11.

Reach Michael Odom at michodom@jacksonsun.com or 731-425-9754. Follow him on Twitter @JSWriterMichael.