Green Hill girls upset previously unbeaten Cookeville in District 9-4A championship

Green Hill found itself down for nearly the entirety of the District 9-4A championship game against Cookeville but made shots when they needed them.

Savannah Kirby's 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds remaining lifted the Lady Hawks (12-15) past previously unbeaten Cookeville (27-1) 29-28 to cap off an improbable district tournament run. 

Following on the heels of their upset win over Lebanon in the semifinals, Green Hill made sure to keep it a low-scoring game against a Cookeville team that had beaten them by an average of 27.5 points in their previous two meetings. 

The first quarter ended with Cookeville leading 8-5 and the two sides only managed two points each in the second quarter as the Lady Cavalier took a 10-7 lead into the break.

The third quarter saw the most action as the teams traded baskets with Green Hill junior Aubrey Blankenship scoring most of her game-high 16 points in the quarter.

Cassie Gallagher hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the quarter to give Cookeville a 29-28 lead as the teams entered the final eight minutes.

Green Hill again slowed the tempo down as the teams struggled to get anything going. Cookeville took a 28-24 lead with just over a minute remaining only to have Green Hill freshman Sullie Gerik connect on a long two to cut the lead down to two with 43,6 remaining.

Cookeville missed a one-and-one opportunity on its ensuing possession giving Green Hill the ball. On the inbounds pass, Kirby broke free from her defender and hoisted up the game-winner. 

Cookeville's KK Graves had a chance to win on the Lady Cavaliers ensuing possession but her layup rimmed out as the final buzzer went off.

Both Green Hill and Cookeville will host region games Friday night with the Lady Hawks playing Station Camp and Cookeville playing Hendersonville.

Reach Joe Spears at jspears2@gannett.com or 731-343-4923. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @joe_spears7.