Second quarter scoring run helps Meigs pull away from Signal Mountain

Meigs's Kassidy Kenny (23) tries to get past the defense of Signal's Jaylah Hardy (12) and Jolie McGann (21).  The Meigs County Tigers played the Signal Mountain Eagles in the semi-final game of the girls's Region 3-AA TSSAA Tournament held at Red Bank High School on February 26, 2018.
Meigs's Kassidy Kenny (23) tries to get past the defense of Signal's Jaylah Hardy (12) and Jolie McGann (21). The Meigs County Tigers played the Signal Mountain Eagles in the semi-final game of the girls's Region 3-AA TSSAA Tournament held at Red Bank High School on February 26, 2018.

When continual pressure didn't seem to faze the Signal Mountain girls' basketball team in the early minutes, the only thing Meigs County coach Jason Powell knew to do was ratchet up the press even more.

That extra gear seemed to wear on the Lady Eagles in the second quarter and helped Meigs pull away for an eventual 61-41 Region 3-AA semifinal victory Monday evening at Red Bank. The Lady Tigers will face McMinn Central on Wednesday for the region title, marking the fourth time this season those teams have met.

The Chargerettes (22-10) defeated Sweetwater 49-39 in Monday's second semifinal and have won two of the three matchups with Meigs so far this season. Carlie Runyan led McMinn Central with 16 points, and Jordan Wright added 12.

"We talked a lot about how we had to handle their pressure and make shots when we had open looks, and we were able to do that for about a quarter," said Signal Mountain coach Kendra Bell, whose team ended a 13-game winning streak. "But they just turned it up even more, and we couldn't respond.

"They were just more aggressive and stronger than we were, but we're young and this is a good lesson for our girls for what we need to do in the future."

The Lady Tigers (26-5) scored the first five points of the game, but Signal Mountain rallied and took a six-point lead by the end of the quarter behind Olivia Koontz's six points. But by the midway point of the second period the pace of the game began taking its toll, and the Lady Eagles failed to score over the final 4:59. During that stretch Meigs County ran off 16 unanswered points to build a double-digit halftime lead.

"For the last two days I've warned our girls that if we didn't get this game under control early and dictate things, then they would be turning in their uniforms tomorrow, because Signal Mountain is a very dangerous team," Powell said.

"They can spread you out to get open looks and have several girls who can make shots, and that's just what they were doing in the first quarter. They weathered that initial burst we started the game with, but we kept coming at them. We had to get the game sped up more to our liking, and I think once we did it wore on them."

Meigs County, winner of 11 of its last 13 games, began the second half with a 16-2 run to end all doubt and advance to the region title game for the fourth time in five years.

Senior Jade Meadows led the Lady Tigers with 20 points, and Kaylie Moore and Kassidy Kenny each added 15. All but two of Kenny's points came at the free-throw line,while Moore connected on three 3-pointers, including one that began the scoring run that ended the first half.

Koontz finished with 16 points for Signal Mountain (20-12), and Mary Witherspoon added 11.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.

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