Elizabethton came up heartbreakingly short on Saturday night.
The Lady Cyclones dropped a 58-53 double overtime decision to Cocke County in Newport in the Class 3A sectional action.
With the loss, Elizabethton’s season comes to a heartbreaking end, while Cocke County will advance to Murfreesboro for the first time since 1988.
After Cocke County opened the scoring with a 5-0 run, Marlee Mathena answered for EHS with four straight runs. The Lady Red, however, scored the next seven points to take a 12-4 lead midway through the quarter.
Reiley Whitson snapped the run with a jumper for the Lady Cyclones. That sparked a 6-2 Elizabethton run to end the quarter as Cocke County held a 14-10 lead after a quarter of play.
The teams traded small runs for most of the second quarter.
Elizabethton tied the game in the final minute as Jumari Smalls hit a shot, and the Lady Cyclones took a lead in the closing seconds when Smalls hit a jumper to give EHS a 22-20 halftime advantage.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the second half.
Kayelen Nave scored four points in the third quarter, while Whitson and Mathena added shots as EHS held a 34-33 advantage after three complete quarters.
In the fourth quarter, the teams swapped shots and the lead as Cocke County held a 40-39 lead with just under five minutes to play.
After the Lady Red took a 45-43 advantage with just under two minutes to play, Peyton McGee hit a runner to tie things up with 1:30 to play.
Neither team was able to score in the final minute to force overtime.
Cocke County struck first in overtime with a Blakelyn Clevenger bucket, but Elizabethton answered with a Michelle Shields bucket to tie things up once again.
After a Lady Red bucket, Whitson evened things up once again at 49-49 with just under a minute remaining in the final quarter.
Cocke County was unable to convert on a steal in the closing seconds as the game went to a second overtime.
Karmine Carmicheal and Clevenger opened the second overtime by pushing the Cocke County lead to 54-49. Once again, Elizabethton answered with four straight points as Sheilds and Whitson scored to pull EHS back within one point.
The Lady Cyclones saw Cocke County convert one-of-two free throws after an intentional foul with 16 seconds remaining in the second extra period, and the Lady Red added another free throw to secure the win despite a hard-fought Elizabethton battle.
Whitson and Shields led the Lady Cyclones with 15 points. Mathena had eight points, while Smalls scored seven points.
Nave ended the night with six points.
Clevenger had 18 points to pace Cocke County. Carmichael added 15 points.
Photos by Seth Butler
