COSBY — When the season could be down to the last 32 minutes, every possession is meaningful.
That’s exactly why the Cosby Lady Eagles turned the aggressive dial up a few notches in Friday’s Region 1-A Tournament quarterfinal round.
Working aggressively on the defensive end to create easy offense, Cosby jumped out to an early 28-9 lead and never looked in the rearview mirror in its 66-38 win over Hampton on Friday.
The result places Cosby in a Region 1-A semifinal for the third straight season. For the second straight year, the Lady Eagles will vie for a TSSAA Class A Sectional Berth opposite of Cloudland High School in Monday’s Region 1-A semifinal at Walters State Community College (7:30 p.m.).
“We were pumped up and our energy was very high,” said Cosby junior guard Bralyn McGaha, who scored a game-high 17 points. “We knew if we started out like that, the game would go smooth.”
Cosby led just 11-7 midway through the first quarter but closed the period on a 17-2 run thanks to its defensive play. Four separate times, a steal led to a direct score, all the while Hampton was out of answers and full of questions trying to attack the tenacious Lady Eagles’ defense.
In the span of 60 seconds, three straight steals on the defensive end led to easy baskets and turned the four-point lead into a double-digit advantage that Cosby did not relinquish the rest of the evening.
Those easy transition buckets after a steal, though, were all it took for Hampton (9-24) to start packing up for its postseason exit.
“(Hampton) had a hard time playing with us in transition. We put up 28 in the first quarter and 40 in the first half,” third-year Lady Eagles coach Cody Lowe said. “It was fun to watch. It was fun to coach.
“We felt like they would have a hard time matching up with us man-to-man and we did a good job of pushing the ball and getting easy buckets.”
While Cosby’s usual cast of characters – McGaha, Leia Groat and Gracie Myers - was doing its damage, Lowe was quick to credit the development and play of his team’s bench to provide much-needed depth. In last year’s run to a Class A Sectional, the Lady Eagles only used six players.
Tessa McGaha came off the bench to provide nine points and cleaned up the offensive glass with authority in the first quarter, while freshman Kinley Coggins had eight points in the game, including burying a couple of key 3-pointers.
“Tessa scored six in the first quarter and rebounded well,” Lowe said. “It’s huge because she gives Lauren (Ford) a breather. Kinley gives Gracie (Myers) a breather.”
Lowe says each player on his roster that receives reliable playing time is interchangeable and capable of starting.
“We talk about starters, starters are overrated,” he said. “We start people depending on matchups. We have about seven of eight girls that can start. It’s not who starts, but it is about how many minutes you get and how they’re contributing when they’re on the floor.”
Cosby (21-12) parlayed its hot start into first half dominance. The Lady Eagles stretched the lead to 20 by midway through the second period and eventually carried a 40-17 lead into the intermission, all but securing the program’s third region semifinal appearance since Lowe was hired in April 2017.
Hampton never threatened in the second half, as Cosby pushed its lead to 54-25 by the end of the third quarter and kept increasing the lead to as many as 33, before digging deep into the reserves and emptying the bench over the last five minutes of the game.
As easy as much of Friday night’s win was, Lowe told his team that there are not any bad teams left in the state now. Just 32 teams in each classification will take the hardwood in region semifinals on Monday evening.
“All the bad teams are done,” Lowe said. “This next one is a big one, because you’re playing for two more (games).”
Cloudland’s 24-5 record and Associated Press state ranking will be a tough task for Cosby, but Lowe feels like his team turned the corner in a Jan. 28 win over Pigeon Forge. The Lady Eagles have won nine of their last 11 games, with the lone losses coming to Class AA Alcoa and Class AAA Sevier County.
Cosby is 15-0 against Class A competition this year.
“I told the girls (after Friday’s win) that I’m not ready for this to be over,” Lowe said. “I felt like we just started playing a month ago. Since the Pigeon Forge (win) we’ve really turned it on. It feels like we’ve only played about 12 games this season since we started playing well.”
The Lady Eagles take on Cloudland at 7:30 p.m. in the second Region 1-A semifinal. North Greene takes on Unaka in the 6 p.m. contest.
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