When Gibson County basketball's star struggled, her teammates carried Pioneers to championship game

MURFREESBORO – Micah Hart didn’t have her best game — not by her standards.

Hart, a TSSAA Miss Basketball finalist, scored 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting in Gibson County's 38-35 win over York Institute in the TSSAA Class 2A state tournament semifinals at MTSU’s Murphy Center. Hart added seven rebounds and a team-leading three steals.

Gibson County (37-1) will play in the Class 2A state championship game against the winner of Gatlinburg-Pittman and Loretto. The champion game tips off at 6 p.m., Saturday at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center.

Hart finished the game 1-for-4 from 3-point range and the one she hit came in the third quarter and tied the game at 17-17.

“Coming out of halftime, my shots weren’t going in.” Hart said. “I knew throughout the game that I would find my shot and my teammates would step up and just keep going throughout the whole game. We knew it was going to be a battle.”

At halftime, Hart had two points on 1-of-7 shooting. Gibson County trailed by as many as six points in the first half but cut that deficit down methodically throughout the game.

Hart's offensive performance was more than 10 points below her senior season production of 20.6 points a game.

Gibson County basketball breaks pressure to create offense

In a low-scoring game, the defensive end became a priority for the Pioneers, who were able to turn defense into offense. A big piece of the way Gibson County was able to flip the floor was breaking the full-court press.

Sophomore Sania Reaves was one of the key players to help keep the ball moving for the Pioneers when the Dragons’ defense was ramping up its pressure.

Reaves is 5-foot-11 and is able to throw the ball over defenders. She’s also tough-nosed and breaks through double teams to get the Pioneers down the floor. She also used that strength advantage to score open layups on the offensive end.

“I work hard on it in practice,” Reaves said. “(Working on) getting through people and go to the basket, especially with coaches.”

Reaves led Gibson County with 11 points, including 5-of-8 shooting from the free throw line. She added nine rebounds and two steals.

A’Kira Riding, a 5-foot-4 junior guard for the Pioneers, helped break the press with her speed.

“It’s just natural,” Riding said, smiling, of her speed and ability to cut through defenses.

More:How important is Micah Hart to Gibson County girls basketball? She's their MVP

Riding finished the game with seven points and had two steals while going 3-for-5 from the free throw line, most of which came in the first half – including a tough and-one in the second quarter.

After the gritty win, the Pioneers are 32 minutes away from their fourth championship in school history.

“When the season starts, we make it our goal – but we don’t talk about it a lot – to get to the last game at the Murphy Center floor,” Gibson County coach Mitch Wilkins said. “That’s what our school has been accustomed to is getting here. We’re able to meet some of our goals and have one more game.”