Hampton is headed to the ‘Boro.
Madi McClain hit a lay-up and added a free throw with 12 seconds left in overtime to power the Lady Bulldogs to a thrilling 65-61 OT victory over Harriman in the Class A Sectional on Saturday night at home.
With the win, Hampton advances to the Class A BlueCross Basketball Championships inside the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro for the first time since 2017.
The Lady Bulldogs will open the tournament on Wednesday afternoon. Game time and bracket will be announced later this weekend.
Against Harriman, it was an epic battle from the opening tip.
McClain opened the scoring with a trey, while Macy Henry and Taylor Berry hit shots as Hampton took an early 8-0 lead. The Lady Blue Devils answered with a 7-3 run, but Ryleigh Nichols and Henry hit back-to-back shots to push Hampton to a 15-9 lead after a quarter of play.
After Harriman cut the gap to two points to open the second, Piper Helle, McClain, and Henry combined to push the lead to nine points before Harriman used a quick 6-0 run to trim the advantage once more.
Linsey Jenkins and Henry reeled off back-to-back shots for Hampton and HHS took a 29-24 halftime lead.
The second half continued to be a back-and-forth battle.
Harriman used an early 8-2 run to tie things up at 32-32 midway through the quarter, but Henry and Jenkins knocked down shots to get Hampton back in front. The teams traded points to end the quarter as Hampton held a slim 39-35 lead after three complete.
After Helle drained a jumper to open the fourth, the Lady Blue Devils scored the next 12 points to take their first lead of the night with just over three minutes to play.
Hampton, however, wasn’t fazed.
McClain knocked down a 3-pointer, while Helle added a bucket to pull the Lady Bulldogs back within one, and Jenkins scored back-to-back goals to push Hampton back into the lead. The teams traded points – including the tying point from Harriman with 48 seconds remaining in regulation – to force overtime.
Harriman scored quickly to open the extra period, but Jenkins quickly answered on the other end for Hampton.
The teams traded points with Harriman leading 61-58 with a minute to play.
McClain knocked down a 3-pointer with 55 seconds remaining and then scored the game-winner to send the Lady Bulldogs to the ‘Boro.
McClain finished with 24 points, while Henry had 15 points. Jenkins added 10 points.
Helle scored nine points.
Skyler Johnson led Harriman with 27 points, while Addison Oliver tossed in 16 points.
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