The Lady ‘Landers were on the wrong side of a heartbreaker Saturday night.
Cloudland saw Oneida score the game-winning bucket on a putback with 0.1 seconds remaining as the Lady Indians took a 43-41 decision over CHS in the TSSAA Class A substate round.
The loss brings Cloudland’s season to a close with a 25-7 mark.
In the opening quarter, points were hard to come by.
Both teams limited opportunities on the defensive side of the ball as OHS held a 5-1 lead midway through the quarter. Mandy Benfield scored Cloudland’s first field goal of the game, but Oneida used a quick run to take a 12-4 lead into the second quarter.
The Lady ‘Landers, however, opened the quarter on a 9-0 run sparked by back-to-back buckets from Jasmine Birchfield, while Heaven Caraway and Benfield added key shots in the run. Oneida, who was held without a field goal for nearly six minutes in the quarter, answered with a 11-0 run of their own that propelled them them to a 23-13 lead at the half.
After the Lady Indians pushed the lead to 12 points to open the third quarter, Cloudland went to work chipping away as CHS used a 7-0 run to trim the lead to five points. Oneida held a slim 31-28 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Cloudland wasn’t going to let Oneida get away again in the final eight minutes.
Birchfield hit a bucket early in the quarter to push CHS into a 32-31 lead, and the teams swapped shots and the lead over the next few minutes. In the closing minutes, the Lady ‘Landers trim the advantage to one-point before a pair of Oneida free throws. Gracie Freeman knocked down a 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining to tie the game at 414-1.
Oneida, however, held for the last shot and Chelsea Newport scored on a putback as the scoreboard read 0.1 to give the Lady Indians the win.
Birchfield finished with 17 points. Benfield and Freeman had 10 points and nine points, respectively, while Caraway tallied five points.
Kelsey Pike led Oneida with 12 points. For the game, the Lady Indians were 16-of-16 from the free throw line.
