One's opinion of the fact that Chattanooga Christian School basketball phenom Momo Moore has four prep seasons ahead of her — after this one, that is — largely depends on one thing.
Whether you're rooting for the Lady Chargers or playing against them.
Over three games in three days at the Times Free Press Best of Preps tournament, Moore put on a show, totaling 76 points to become the first eighth grader in the event's history to be selected MVP.
One of two electric young guards for the Lady Chargers, Moore scored a game-high 22 points in her closing act to lead the way to a 66-44 victory over Signal Mountain in the girls' championship game Saturday night at Chattanooga State.
"I had a dream about this last night," said Moore, who combined with freshman teammate Aubriyanna Camp for for 42 points and 12 assists. "I knew I would be the only eighth grader in history of the Best of Preps to win MVP, so I knew I had to go get that tonight.
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"Aubriyanna and I are like peanut butter and jelly. We are mixed together very well. We are like a Klay Thompson and Steph Curry duo. You can't stop us both. We have played together since we were in third grade and really built some great chemistry."
Camp and Moore have certainly been show-stoppers, with a combined average of nearly 50 points per game this season, but CCS (10-4) used a stout defensive effort in second half to pull away from Signal Mountain (13-3), which was without star junior forward Carlee Lowry.
Camp and Moore were locked in on finding teammate Jaydah Rainey in the paint, too, as the physical forward scored all 11 of her points after halftime.
Rainey closed a quick 6-0 run as Moore picked up her second straight steal in as many possessions to make an unselfish find to her teammate on the low right block, and the Lady Chargers went up 38-29 with 3:05 left in the third quarter.
"For us to come away with the Best of Preps title is a nice little feather in our cap," CCS coach Laura Cottrell said. "We have two very, very special basketball players. I expected coming in that Momo could put up the performance she did, and Aubriyanna could have very easily been the MVP, too.
(READ MORE: Best of Preps roundup: Signal Mountain boys resilient after opening loss at tournament)
"They do something extremely special on a nightly basis, and we are blessed to have them. If we can get Rainey locked in on a consistent basis, then we will be a tough team for anyone to beat."
Signal Mountain relied on 5-foot-11 senior forward Ashlyn Rock to produce in the title bout, and she did by scoring a team-high 16 points and grabbing 14 rebounds — including six in the second quarter alone.
Rock was selected to the all-tournament team along with Lowry and teammate Emily Redman.
Rainey and Lailani Hatten joined Camp and Moore on the all-tournament team for the champions, while Notre Dame had Violet Wright and Dayonna Perryman make the team along with Tyner's Shy Harrison.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.