Lady Trojans answer second-half challenges to win TSSAA Class 3A State Championship

 

Jason Peevyhouse

Editor, JP Productions Sports

Though Dyersburg saw their halftime lead slip away during a White County second-half run, the Lady Trojans showed their poise of being at the TSSAA Class 3A State Tournament for four straight seasons, answering with big performances in the late third and fourth quarters to defeat the Warriorettes 54-45 for their second Class 3A State Title in three seasons.

Led by Class 3A Miss Basketball Finalist Chelby Jordan, Dyersburg jumped out to an early lead on the strength of three jumpers from Jordan to take a 6-0 advantage less than two minutes into the game. White County battled back with an 8-2 run to tie the game after a Laklyn Grasty bucket with 1:18 left in the quarter. Dyersburg answered late after a defensive stop with a Kaliyah Lewis bucket with ten seconds left to put the Lady Trojans up 10-8 after one quarter.

An early bucket from White County’s Gracie Clark tied the game but only for 13 seconds as Jordan drew a foul which resulted in two free throws to put Dyersburg back on top. Kay Kay Strayhorn tacked on a bucket before a Bella Winningham three-pointer cut the Lady Trojan lead to 14-13. Dyersburg answered with Jordan leading the way, outscoring the Warriorettes 7-2 through the rest of the half. Dyersburg took a 23-15 lead into halftime.

White County battled back in the third quarter. Following an Aerie Quinn three-pointer 32 seconds into the half, a Grasty bucket opened up an 11-2 run by the Warriorettes to cut the Dyersburg lead to one possession leading to a timeout. White County then used a turnover to tie the game with a Clark lauyup. The Lady Trojans caught a break and weren’t bit by an ensuing turnover and got a bigger shot from Kathleen Harrell via a three-pointer with 2:55 left in the frame. That trifecta from the senior long-ranger proved to open a scoring spree by Dyersburg which lead to a seven-point lead late in the period from the Lady Trojans. The Dyersburg girls took a 37-30 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Lady Trojans were able to build their lead to double digits during the early part of the fourth quarter after a layup from Strayhorn and a pair of free throws by Aerie Quinn. White County answered with four Clark free throws to cut the lead to seven. The Lady Trojans were able to run time off the clock then Jordan drew a foul on a layup to get a pair of free throws, pushing Dyersburg’s lead back to 43-34 with 3:33 left in the frame. This also began a 9-0 run which put the black and gold girls well ahead before a pair of Clark free throws cut it to a dozen in the final minute of action. A foul sent Quinn to the line where the senior hit both with 52 seconds left. From there, a late three-pointer and a bucket by White County countered a pair of Jordan free throws as Dyersburg secured its second state title in three seasons.

Jordan led the way for the Lady Trojans with 26 points, eight steals and five rebounds, securing the Class 3A State Tournament Most Valuable Player Award in the process. Fellow senior Quinn tossed in 11 in the win.

The win concludes Dyersburg’s season with a 28-6 mark, ending on a seven-game winning streak.

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