The Cloudland girls basketball program was unable to solve the North Greene puzzle on Monday night.
The Lady ‘Landers dropped a heartbreaking 42-36 decision to the Lady Huskies in the District 1-A Girls Championship game at Sullivan North.
In the consolation game, Unaka edged Hampton 43-37 for third place.
All three county teams will open the Region 1-A tournament on Friday.
In the title game, it was battle from the opening tip.
Trinity Vines and Stacia Wilson each hit a shot in the first quarter as Cloudland found themselves in a 10-5 deficit at the end of the first quarter. The CHS defense stiffened up in the second stanza as they allowed just four points in the frame. A balanced Cloudland attack – who ended the quarter on a 7-1 run – stormed back to take a 16-14 advantage at the half.
Cloudland received big 3-pointers from Gracie Freeman and Vines, while Wilson added four points in the third quarter. North Greene, however, eeked back out to take a 27-26 advantage into the final quarter.
The Lady ‘Landers continued to battle as Wilson came alive. Wilson had 10 points in the frame, but CHS was unable to overcome crucial free throws in the closing minutes of the game.
Wilson finished with 16 points to lead Cloudland, while Vines added eight points.
Breezy Savage had 13 points to pace the Lady Huskies.
Megan Lunsford, Wilson and Vines were all named to the All-Tournament team.
In the consolation game, it was a back-and-forth matchup.
Unaka jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the first quarter, but Hampton went on a 7-0 run to take the lead. The Lady Rangers, however, answered as Savannah Tipton scored nine points in the quarter to push the Unaka lead to 26-19 at the half.
In the third quarter, Unaka continued to have the hot hand pushing the lead to 10 points, but Hampton methodically trimmed the lead. It was 35-28 at the end of the third quarter, and the Lady Bulldogs eventually cut the gap to one point.
Tipton and the Lady Rangers took care of business on the free throw line in the closing minutes to secure the win.
Tipton finished with a team-high 16 points, while Madison Pierce had 15 points. Jada Whitehead added eight points.
Hampton was paced by LeeAnne Guinn’s 13 points, while Brooke Highs added nine points. Stephanie Campbell and Haley Carden had seven and six points, respectively.
Tipton and Myah Parlier were named to the All-Tournament team for Unaka, while Guinn and Hughes represented Hampton.
