Meigs County girls use dominant fourth quarter to upend Notre Dame at Best of Preps tournament

Meigs County's Kassidy Kenny dribbles ahead of Notre Dame's Kate Ford during their Times Free Press Best of Preps basketball game at Chattanooga State Technical Community College on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Meigs County's Kassidy Kenny dribbles ahead of Notre Dame's Kate Ford during their Times Free Press Best of Preps basketball game at Chattanooga State Technical Community College on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Notre Dame's girls were every bit as good as Meigs County for three quarters Thursday, but the Lady Tigers looked like one of the best teams in the area for the game's final eight minutes.

Notre Dame scored one point in the fourth quarter as a two-point advantage turned into a 57-40 loss to Meigs County in the opening round of the annual Times Free Press Best of Preps basketball tournament at Chattanooga State.

"They really got after us defensively (in the fourth quarter). They caused some turnovers and forced us into some bad shots," Fighting Irish coach Jason Hill said. "That wasn't a result of us just not shooting the ball well. Meigs County forced us into a bad quarter."

Notre Dame (12-6) flew to a 13-2 lead in the game's first four minutes, but Meigs County (13-1) quickly answered, tying the game at 15 points to end the first quarter. They remained even through the second quarter, and the two teams went to the break tied at 28.

Irish point guard Kate Ford scored four of her team-high 15 points in the third quarter to lead Notre Dame to a 37-35 advantage heading to the fourth.

"Number 11 for them played well," Meigs County coach Jason Powell said in reference to Ford. "But our team's been resilient. I don't like slow starts, but I guess it's part of the game."

The Tigers outscored the Irish 20-1 in the final period, making 12 free throws in that stretch. Forward Kassidy Kenny scored 10 of her game-high 24 points in the quarter.

Jacelyn Stone, Meigs County's do-everything point guard, contributed six points, several steals and helped keep Notre Dame from converting a field goal in the final period.

The Lady Tigers advance to a semfinal against Heritage at 4 p.m. today, while Notre Dame will play GPS at 10 a.m. in a losers-bracket matchup.

Contact Mark Pace at mpace@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6361. Follow him on Twitter @themarkpace and on Facebook @ChattanoogaOutdoors.

Upcoming Events