Central advances again to state
It’s a well-worn path from Central High School to MTSU’s Murphy Center for the state girls basketball tournament. But the Warriors didn’t clinch their fifth straight trip to the show until they wore down host Munford for a 55-45 sectional win Saturday night.
“We didn’t play particularly well, and didn’t execute the things we’ve been working on for 10 days. But we got where we wanted to go,” Central coach Niki Bray said.
The Warriors (25-5) slowly, sometimes very slowly, pulled away from a 22-21 halftime lead, borrowing a couple of pages from a certain pro team that plays a little bit to the west of their gym. Their defense and rebounding kept them afloat early, and finally Central started pounding the ball inside for layups and putbacks against the Cougars (27-6).
Tia Wooten scored 14 of her 18 points after halftime, and was perfect from the foul line
“Like Tony (Allen) says, we just had to grind. We weren’t catching the ball. But we hung in there,” said Wooten.
Wooten had six points in the third quarter to help give her team a 37-30 lead. So did Baylor-bound Nina Davis, who battled to a 17-point night against constant double teams.
“We talked about this being five years all week, and this being my senior year I wasn’t taking no for an answer,” said Davis.
Central junior Darriel Johnson added nine of her 14 points in the second half. And 5-foot senior guard Kahdeja Howell hit her team’s only outside jumpers of the night, getting six points, along with delivering two huge offensive rebounds late in the game.
Munford, District 13 and Region 7 winners, stayed in the game early thanks to three of their four 3-pointers. Point guard Shaliyah Wiggins had 10 of her 15 points in the first half, and hit a final trey with 1:05 left to pull her team within 4641 before Central pulled away at the free throw line.
Robneisha Lee also had 15 for Munford, all in the second half when she was virtually her team’s only reliable option.
“Our kids played hard, but we didn’t shoot the ball like we usually do,” Munford coach Steve Poind- exter said after his team’s first sectional-round appearance. “And every time Central’s kids needed one, they made a play with an offensive rebound or a putback.”
IN OTHER GAMES
Overton is also headed back to state for the fifth consecutive year. The Wolverines (31-6) pounded Jackson North Side 78-54. Rodrea Echols led Overton with 14 points. Kelsey Briggs, Amber Holmes and Fontenelle Walker each chipped in 11.
In Class AA, Covington (35-2) earned a trip to next week’s state tournament with a 76-41 win over Trezevant (18-9). Leshaundra Somerville led the Chargers with 17 points. Manassas, the Region 8-AA champ, was eliminated by Westview, 62-35.