Sweetwater basketball picked up their first district win since Dec. 17, 2021, when the Lady Wildcats downed Polk County in overtime.
A streak lasting 749 days and 18 games ended with a 50-47 win on a special night in Sweetwater.
On their third coach since last winning a league contest, Sweetwater (2-12; 1-2 District 3-2A) has had to wait patiently for the moment to come, a moment that took place on its home court and the same night that meaningful names were added to the Sweetwater athletics Hall of Fame.
“I think that they want to win so badly that sometimes they try too hard. They are trying to prove something and have a little edge. They want to prove they are good enough to be here and are good enough to play,” Sweetwater coach Jennifer Slover said. “You can see throughout the year how much better they have gotten. The wins and losses, you cannot really see through that, but the points they are scoring versus what they were; they are doing so much better.
“Our schedule is brutal and our conference is brutal. I think this is one of those things they needed to keep climbing up the mountain.”
Standing out on the court was Lilly Woodruff. The freshman finished with her ninth double-double in 14 games, scoring 27 points and tallying 16 rebounds.
“She is a freshman, but she does not play like a freshman. She is one of the easiest kids that I have ever coached in a sport. She listens and she does exactly what you say,” Slover said. “I knew last night she was going to be on a rollercoaster because of all the events.”
Woodruff did not warm up with the team. Instead, she watched the ceremony in the cafeteria as her mom — Sarah Houser-Woodruff — was inducted into the Wildcats’ Hall of Fame.
“Once she kind of came in and got focused, she kind of went right with the move. I think it was special for her mom to see her play so well,” Slover added. “I think it was special for her whole family.”
Woodruff started the game with two field goals and nine points in the first half before exploding for six points from the floor in the third quarter. She added six down the stretch and four in overtime.
She shot 11 for 15 at the line.
“She is a great athlete, but she is a great kid. She is a straight-A student and all honors classes. She is just a great individual, she really is,” Slover said.
The fourth quarter was not kind to Sweetwater. Ahead by 10 at the start, Sweetwater was outscored 19-9 in the fourth, forcing the contest into overtime.
The Lady Wildcats have played in close games this season heading into the fourth quarter, but overtime was uncharted territory. Defensively, Polk, which had five scorers in the fourth quarter, was held to only one scorer, and five points, in overtime.
“I was just so proud of them. We have been preaching all year ‘don’t quit; if you keep fighting until the end it will eventually pay off,’” Slover said “Last night, that is what they did. I just kept telling them to give me eight more minutes. When it was over they were so happy. That is what makes me feel so good, when they are happy.
“It was a special moment for them.”
Sweetwater’s defense throughout the third quarter stormed the Lady Wildcats ahead in what was a 21-17 score at halftime.
The Wildkittens were held to zero field goals in the frame and only six points. Polk County (5-9; 0-3) shot 6 for 8 at the line with top scorer Ally Combs, who had five points in overtime, being held to one point.
“One of the things that (assistant coach) Jordan Wright and I have been talking about is that they don’t know how to win. Once they get to the point where the win is in their sights they kind of panic,” Slover said. “We took a couple of timeouts to try to calm them down and they started getting back into that rhythm again. We kind of got back to our game plan.”
Kylie Baylog and Maddy Sewell continue to be standout defenders for Sweetwater.
“(Baylog) always plays great defense. At the beginning of the year, she would kind of reach and not use her feet. She has kept up and is playing defense the way we want her to. She stands out a lot,” Slover said. “(Sewell) also stands out. (Woodruff) rebounds and she is one that we can put on an offensive player we need to stop.”
Woodruff ended her night with eight field goals and 73% shooting at the line. Gibby added 10 points followed by nine from Kendall Tyler and three from Baylog.
Polk County finished with nine separate scorers on the night. Combs was the only one to reach double figures, but Madison Lewis tallied nine points — four in the fourth quarter.
Hannah Burgess and Anastasia Keith scored high with eight points — seven and six points in the fourth quarter, respectively.
“We watched film and decided what we needed to do. But our game plan was to not worry about what they are going to do and play our defense,” Slover said. “They just executed everything I said. They played pressure defense and those kinds of things. Every time I gave them a new assignment last night, they executed and that is kind of what we did.”
Gibby continues to be an important part of Sweetwater basketball. The sophomore scored four points in overtime but is one of the key presences on defense for the Lady ’Cats.
“She is very important. She has a certain air about her out there and is very confident. She helps the girls where they need to be and is just a different kind of player,” Slover said. “Defensively is where she really shines. We don’t have many offensive people that want to go in there with her, she’s rough.”
Sweetwater moves into sole possession of fifth place in the league as Polk falls to sixth. McMinn Central became the lone team atop the standings with a win over Kingston. Meigs County moved into the top half by besting Tellico Plains.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.