Cloudland was on the cusp of returning to Murfreesboro on Saturday night. However, the Lady ‘Landers saw a late Wartburg charge deny them of their dream.
CHS saw the season come to a close with a 47-43 decision at Wartburg in the Class A Girls Substate.
Early on, Cloudland controlled things inside.
Stacia Wilson and Trinity Vines combined for eight points. The Lady Bulldogs, however, jumped out in front to take a 10-8 lead into the second quarter. Cloudland spread the wealth around in the second stanza as five Lady ‘Landers reached the scorebook. Jasmine Birchfield tallied four points in the period, while Kenzie Birchfield added a trey. That helped CHS take a 21-18 advantage into the locker room at the half.
After Wartburg jumped back on top in the third quarter, Cloudland used a late 7-0 run to take a 30-24 lead into the final eight minutes.
In the final period, Megan Lunsford drained a shot to give CHS a seven-point lead with six minutes to play. Wartburg closed the gap, but Wilson added a bucket to push the lead back out to four points with four minutes left in the game. The Lady Bulldogs, however, used a 12-0 run to take control of the game.
Cloudland, however, didn’t go quietly.
K. Birchfield added three free throws and then a trey to pull Cloudland back within two points with 11 seconds remaining. On the other end, the Lady Bulldogs denied any comeback as they secured the game from the charity stripe.
Birchfield had 15 points to lead Cloudland. Wilson and Vines had 11 and nine points, respectively.
