Pickett County's first TSSAA Class A state championship since 1989 had family all over it

MURFREESBORO — Family was imprinted all over this Pickett County team.

The Lady Bobcats knocked off Moore County for the program's first TSSAA girls basketball state championship since 1989, beating the Lady Raiders 56-45 in the Class 1A final Saturday at Murphy Center.

From Pickett County guard Zoe Nicholas' aunt and grandmother, members of three Pickett County state championship teams, to current coach Brent Smith, whose brother, Barry, coached the 1989 title team. It was family from the start.

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"It's been 35 years ... 35 years and that's been a long time," said Nicholas' aunt, Amelia Threet, who was Amelia Nicholas during her four years at Pickett County (1987-91). I was a sophomore when we won it in '89. And I'm so, so proud of my niece, Zoe. It's a great feeling because you wait so long for it to happen. And then it happens."

Nicholas had five points in the championship game while her cousin, Callie Reeder was named tournament MVP. Reeder had 12 points in Saturday's final, a day after finishing with 17 points in an upset win over Wayne County in the semifinal.

"I grew up hearing about state championships," Nicholas said. "I grew up with my grandmother's stories and my aunt's stories. And I wanted to be a part of that. I wanted my own state championship stories to tell. I have some now."

Nicholas' grandmother, Lesa Beaty, was on two of four straight state championship wins. Her 1977 team was the program's first. That was followed by titles in 1978, '79 and '80 when girls basketball played 6-on-6.

"I played guard on those early Pickett County teams," said Beaty, whose name was Lesa Reeder during those years. "Coming to Murphy Center was a grand thing for us. I can remember running out on that big floor, in that big gym, because that was the biggest thing we ever played on. And all these years later, to see my granddaughters out there on the that floor, it was such a thrill for us."

Pickett County (29-2) has never fallen too far off that pedestal. The program has been a consistent winner but for years it couldn't get past the quarterfinals of the state tournament. Brent Smith brought seven Lady Bobcats teams to the Glass House and seven times he was knocked out without a win. Wednesday's win over Cloudland broke that streak, and Saturday ended their title drought, aided by four 3-pointers and 18 points from Ella Keisling.

But a more impressive streak may be that the Lady Bobcats have never lost when it advances to the state championship game. Saturday was the program's sixth.

"My brother encouraged me early in my coaching career," said Smith, who helped Pickett County boys capture the 1990 Class A title as a player. "It's a tough life. There was a lot of self-doubt early for me, and if you're looking to get rich being a high school coach, this ain't it."

Each Lady Bobcat stood outside their locker room Saturday taking individual and group pictures with the championship trophy. When they ascended up the steps of the Murphy Center, they were showered with cheers from Pickett County fans. Zoe Nicholas, Callie Reeder and their teammates were met with hugs.

"Basketball is big in Pickett County," Threet said. "We didn't really do anything else. It's a small town and that's what we knew and to see these girls win it, it just brings back a lot of great memories. Three generations in our family can share what that's like now."

Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.