Ashlyn Rock and Carlee Lowry were dominant offensively in the paint while also helping Signal Mountain deliver a sensational defensive performance in Monday's 57-27 Region 3-AAA semifinal victory over Lenoir City at East Ridge High School.
Rock wasted no time in firing up her teammates as she provided three of her game-high four blocks in the first quarter and also hit tough jumpers to ignite a 15-3 lead.
The versatile 5-foot-10 senior made her presence felt all over the court, finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds and three steals to help her team advance to Wednesday's region championship game against Maryville Heritage, which defeated Soddy-Daisy 65-48.
"Ashlyn is a great leader," said Lowry, a junior and Miss Basketball finalist. "At practice she is such a hard worker and she fuels everyone. Whenever she makes a big play, our team is like alright it's time to go! She is such a huge weapon for this team and everyone follows her."
Lowry certainly followed Rock's intense effort, as one of the best players in Class 3A finished with a game-high 22 points to go along with 18 rebounds and two blocked shots. Lowry's final rebound came with over five minutes remaining. At that time she had more rebounds than her opponent had points (16).
Eleven of Lowry's rebounds came in the first half as she went to work on the offensive glass.
"I really have zero clue how she does it," Rock said. "Carlee is just always there. I will see the ball bouncing off the other side of the rim and I won't see her at first, but then all of a sudden she is there with the ball. She works her butt off to get there. She knows right where the ball is going at all times. It is pretty amazing."
It was not just the post duo that propelled the Lady Eagles (23-6) to Wednesday's 7 p.m. region title bout against Maryville Heritage (28-3), as three other key senior starters contributed.
Emily Redman's smooth outside shooting stroke provided her second 3-pointer to build a 33-14 lead with 4:12 left in the third quarter, part of a 16-2 run for Signal Mountain in which Redman also added two of her four assists in the victory.
Meanwhile, Meg Clark and Abby Walker were lights out on the defensive end as their suffocating defense and quick instincts did not allow any player on Lenoir City (12-20) to score more than eight points.
"We have such a well-rounded team," Lady Eagles coach Kendra Bell said. "I know Ashlyn and Carlee score a lot of points and grab a lot of boards, but Meg and Abby on the defensive side, they just shut people down. We have our work cut out for us Wednesday but we are right where we should be."
After losing in the region title game last year to Soddy-Daisy, Signal will now have to halt Heritage's Carsyn Swaney, who had 32 points in Monday's other semifinal game.
Senior Alivia Hall, who surpassed 1,000 career points this season, scored 15 points in her final game for Soddy-Daisy (20-13). Katie Wright's Lady Trojans have won 43 games over the last two seasons.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.