How Jackson South Side rallied from being down 15 points to advance to state championship

MURFREESBORO − The 34-0 record, the average winning margin of 30 points, the fact that Jackson South Side girls basketball has won all but two games by double digits: those are easy to see.

There's more to know about the Hawks, however.

Like the time their bus got stuck on the side of the road. Like how they had to switch venues midway through the Region 6-3A championship game because the gym roof started leaking. South Side has barely been touched on the court this season, but coach Brent McNeal thinks the team has still faced adversity.

It came in handy during Thursday's state semifinal against Elizabethton, as the Hawks rallied from a 15-point second-quarter deficit to win 84-76 in double overtime behind a 36-point night for Miss Basketball finalist Ti'Mia Lawson and 20 points and 12 rebounds from Jaidynn Askins.

"You don't ever know what the adversity's gonna be," McNeal said. "... You just have to know that at some point in time, you're gonna come into some kind of adversity, and you gotta learn to fight through it."

South Side will face Livingston Academy (29-7) on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the state championship game. The Hawks fell to Upperman 48-43 in last season's title game.

Elizabethton (29-5) brought out a zone defense, something South Side wasn't prepared for on film. The Cyclones' length frustrated the Hawks as well, as did the downhill penetration of guard Lina Lyon.

"Win-or-go-home situation, so you have to expect everything," McNeal said. "They had a great game plan."

McNeal thought his team was resilient, but hadn't seen much proof before Thursday due to the nature of their dominance. To him, South Side's comeback confirmed its "don't quit" mentality. The Hawks battled on the boards with 17 offensive rebounds, hit 30 of 41 free throws and committed just six turnovers.

REMATCH:South Side basketball avenges 2022 TSSAA championship loss with pressure defense

BACK FROM INJURY:Savannah Davis leads McKenzie girls basketball into Class 1A semifinals

What McNeal wasn't worried about was South Side's conditioning over a 40-minute game. He thinks his team runs more than most teams in Tennessee. During practice, the Hawks run for mistakes like turning the ball over, not boxing out or not adequately helping on defense.

"These kids, a lot of them think I’m the meanest person I know, a lot of them think I’m tough as they come," McNeal said. "But at the end of the day, it all comes from a great place. Being an athlete, all I know is fight. Until that last buzzer goes off, in my mind, you got a chance."

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.