Unaka wasn’t going to be denied.
The Lady Rangers claimed the program’s first District 1-A tournament title since 2005 with a 45-39 victory over North Greene in Monday’s District 1-A Championship game at West Ridge.
With the win, Unaka also secured a bye in the Region 1-A quarterfinal round.
Simply put, it was a battle on Monday night.
Hannah Miller opened the scoring for North Greene before Kalli Shepard drained a 3-pointer to give Unaka a 3-2 lead midway through the first. The teams traded shots as Brooklyn Campbell and Michelle Shields added shots to lift the Lady Rangers to an 11-9 lead after a quarter of play.
Miller and Mercy Buchanan scored to push North Greene back in front to open the second quarter, but 3-pointers from Shields and Campbell pushed Unaka back in front.
The Lady Rangers used the momentum to take a 22-19 lead at the half.
Miller scored to open the third quarter to close the Unaka lead to one, but the Lady Rangers responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Shields and Shepard. Unaka pushed the lead to 37-26 after three complete quarters.
In the final quarter, Unaka led by 12 points before North Greene reeled off a quick 7-0 run to close within five points. Shepard, however, hit a key 3-pointer to stop the NG run, and the Lady Rangers were able to keep NG at bay to secure the win.
Shields finished with 18 points and was named the District 1-A Tournament MVP. Campbell added 12 points, while Shepard and Lauren Lund had nine and six points, respectively.
Campbell, Shepard, and Lund joined Shields on the All-Tournament team.
Miller finished with 17 points to lead North Greene.
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