By Michael Lindsay
The Stone Memorial Lady Panthers got back in the win column Tuesday afternoon, but it took an extra frame as they won at Clarkrange in overtime, 70-60.
“I’m proud of my girls,” said Stone Memorial head coach Mike Buck “We started out really solid, then Clarkrange rallied back and made 11 threes on us. That fourth quarter and overtime were as tight of basketball as there is. That last minute in regulation and the four minutes of overtime were as well as we’ve competed and as focused as we’ve been in a while.”
Junior forward Kortney Headrick led the Lady Panthers with 18 points along with 14 by Rachel Houston, Kailee Waldo and Adison Howard.
“Several of the girls played well in overtime,” said Buck. “There were several competitive shots made. Adison and Kailee played well late, and Kortney was solid early and got their attention in the second. Rachel Houston is really finishing her high school career strong and it matters a lot to her.”
Lydia Phillips led the Lady Buffaloes with 20 points followed by Chloe Rogers with 12.
Stone Memorial jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the opening period and led 14-4 with 3:36 left in the first quarter. Clarkrange didn’t go away quietly as the Lady Buffaloes answered with a 9-0 run over the next 3 minutes to pull within one point (14-13) late in the first quarter.
The Lady Panthers held a 16-13 lead entering the second period before Clarkrange took their first lead via a Macie Threet three-pointer with 6:49 left in the second quarter.
Clarkrange continued their offensive onslaught as a Rogers three-pointer gave the Lady Buffaloes a 31-24 lead with 3:29 remaining until halftime. The Lady Buffaloes took a 31-28 lead into the locker room at the break.
“Any time we broke our scout, they capitalized,” said Buck. “Watching the game film from our first game against them, they missed a lot of shots that they will not miss in their gym.”
A back-and-forth third quarter saw the Lady Buffaloes take a 45-42 lead at the end of the period via a Phillips basket with 2.8 seconds left in the frame.
An early basket gave Clarkrange a 5-point lead at 47-42 before Stone Memorial stormed back to retake a 51-50 lead via a Waldo layup with 5:23 remaining.
A Phillips jumper with 3:17 left in the fourth gave the Lady Buffaloes a 57-55 lead before a pair of Waldo free throws tied the game back at 57. Both teams had a shot with less than 10 seconds left in regulation, but neither found the back of the net as the game went to overtime.
Stone Memorial controlled the overtime session from the tip as Houston and Lily Hinch hit three-pointers followed by a Howard basket to give Stone Memorial a 65-58 lead with 2:08 remaining.
“Lily Hinch came back from a nose procedure the day before and put a mask on to go out there and play,” added Buck.
The Lady Panthers held on from there to win by a 70-60 final score to improve to 10-15 overall while Clarkrange falls to 14-13.
“It’s always fun to go back home,” said Buck, a Clarkrange graduate who went on to play college basketball at MTSU. “You don’t just stumble into the success coach (Lamar) Rogers has had. He’s developed those players and sees the game so differently. Clarkrange is a special place; that gym gets loud and they really support them. It’s always good to go in there and get a win; coach Rogers is the best to ever do it in Tennessee.”
Along with the victory on Tuesday, Headrick passed a career milestone as she scored her 1,000th career point in the second half at Clarkrange.
“We’ve leaned on her the last 3 years as our go-to girl and she’s stepped up,” said Buck. “She’s been able to handle that and succeed. One of her strengths is her passing ability, so for her to get to 1,000 points is really good. She’s unselfish and it’s a really good balance. She didn’t know she was close.”
Up next for Stone Memorial is their final regular season matchup as they host District 7-3A foe DeKalb County while Clarkrange is scheduled to play at Gordonsville.
Stone Memorial (70): Kortney Headrick 18, Rachel Houston 14, Adison Howard 14, Chloe Waldo 14, Ashley Whittenburg 7, Lily Hinch 3
Clarkrange (60): Lydia Phillips 20, Chloe Rogers 12, Payton Manis 11, Macie Threet 9, Sophia Sitton 6, Kadey Sells 2
