Upperman's Dana McWilliams is the Tennessean's girls basketball coach of the year

The goal was never to go undefeated.

Honest.

Truth be told, the focus was on a second straight Class AA girls basketball state championship. Going undefeated was just a bonus.

"I really don't think it occurred to this team much," said Upperman girls coach Dana McWilliams, who has been named The Tennessean's girls basketball coach of the year. "They just stayed focused on getting back to the state tournament.

"I don't think it weighed much on them very much this year."

Upperman finished with its first undefeated season last month, going 37-0. The Lady Bees capped the season with a 64-62 overtime win over Macon County in the state title game when standout point guard Akira Levy scored off the dribble as time expired.

"We never felt any pressure to go undefeated," McWilliams said. "We really wanted to go back to state and have a chance to win."

McWilliams, an Upperman graduate who went on to play at Tennessee Tech, wrapped up her 24th season as the Baxter school's girls basketball coach this season. She has won 615 games at Upperman and has now claimed two straight state championships — the only two for the program.

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She did it this year in the final season of the best player ever to play for the Lady Bees in Levy. The Western Kentucky signee is a four-year starter and two-time Miss Basketball recipient.

Levy, though, was quick to give credit to her coach.

"Coach Dana is not only a special coach and a great one at that, but she is even better off the court," Levy said. "She always makes sure her team is doing what we need to do and is always there to take care of us.

"She genuinely loves us as people and not just as basketball players. There are a lot of great coaches around, but I am so very proud of her and her accomplishments. I feel very honored to play for someone like her."

The road to perfection wasn't a simple one. It included holiday tournaments in Florida and Scottsville, Ky. 

And that does include the tough league schedule of District 8-AA, which included five wins over district rival Macon County.

"You can look back and a lot of 8-AA teams have been state champions and state runner-up," McWilliams said. "We feel like our league helps us compete and get ready for the state tournament when we get there."

Reach Tom Kreager at tkreager@tennessean.com or 615-259-8089 and on Twitter @Kreager.