Roundup: Loretto girls return to first state championship since 1979, can play for first title since 1958

MURFREESBORO — On a day of upsets, Loretto may have pulled off the biggest one of the day.

Loretto beat defending state champion Greenfield and Class A Miss Basketball Chloe Moore-McNeil 66-55 in Friday's state semifinals to reach the program's first state championship game since 1979.

"Outside of this team and this community, nobody thought we were going to win this game," Loretto coach Ashley Rutledge said. "But we knew we were."

Loretto (33-1) plays the Gibson County-Midway winner at 4 p.m. Saturday at Middle Tennessee State's Murphy Center.

Miss Basketball finalist Karly Weathers, a freshman, scored a team-high 16 points and was 8 of 8 from the free throw line. Teammate Kensey Weathers had eight points and five rebounds.

The Mustangs held Moore-McNeil to 18 points, including 14 in the second half.

Loretto's win over Greenfield guaranteed that there would not be any girls basketball repeat champions. Loretto's upset win came after Houston ended three-time defending state champion Riverdale's season with a 78-72 double overtime win.

Upperman, the 2018 Class AA state champion, didn't reach the state tournament and Providence Christian (Division II-A) and Ensworth (DII-AA) weren't repeat winners.

Loretto, which has reached the state tournament 17 times, won the first girls basketball state title in TSSAA history in 1958. It's the program's lone state championship. The Lady Mustangs were runners-up in 1961 and 1979.

Class AAA

Houston 78, Riverdale 72: Destinee Wells scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Lady Mustangs to their second straight Class AAA state championship game and end the Lady Warriors' three-year reign as state champions.

Mississippi State signee Jayla Hemingway, who was named the Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year, had 19 points and 10 rebounds. And Madison Griggs added 18.

Sisters Aislynn Hayes, Alasia Hayes and Acacia Hayes combined to score 53 of Riverdale's 72 points. Aislynn, an MTSU signee, had a game-high 23 points. Alasia added 19 and Acacia had 11. Lipscomb signee Jalyn Holcomb had 12.

Houston (31-2) plays Bradley Central (33-3) at 1:30 p.m. in the Class AAA championship.

Bradley Central 56, Oak Ridge 50: Jamaryn Blair scored 22 points and hit 10 of 13 free throws to lead the Bearettes to their first state championship game since 1995. Anna Walker added 18 points.

Khamari Mitchell-Steen scored 20 points to pace Oak Ridge (34-3), which had a 31-game win streak snapped with the loss.

Tennessee Tech signee Jada Guinn added 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds with five steals, three blocks and three assists.

Class AA

Cheatham Co. 75, Macon Co. 51: Abbi Douglas scored a game-high 27 points and sister Alli Douglas had 22 points and 11 rebounds to send Cheatham County into its first state championship game in any sport.

Cheatham County went on a 17-0 first-half run and never looked back.

Jalynn Gregory had 23 points to pace Macon County (31-6). Keeley Carter added 16 and had eight rebounds.

Cheatham County plays Westview at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Westview 46, Marshall Co. 37: Raegan Johnson scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds to send the Lady Chargers into the Class AA state title game. Teammate Alexis Callins had 14 points.

Kelsey Keiler led Marshall County (27-8) with 13 points.

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