Story By Eli Sampson
The Plainview Lady Bears punched their ticket to their third straight Final Four in Birmingham next week with a hard-fought 55-50 victory over Cherokee County in the Northeast Regional Final on Monday night.
“This is a total team effort; these girls will tell you they couldn’t score points, get rebounds, and create turnovers without their teammates, “said Plainview Head Coach Luke Griggs. Cherokee County is a great team. They’re well coached and played extremely hard tonight.
Cherokee County got on the board first with a tough layup on its opening possession to take an early 2-0 lead. Plainview answered at the free throw line to tie the game, but Cherokee County responded with another strong finish inside to move ahead 4-2.
Both teams traded easy layups in transition as the pace picked up early. Cherokee County held an 8-5 advantage with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter. Following a timeout, Cherokee came out firing and went on a 5-0 run to stretch its lead to 13-5.
Plainview’s Miley Dukes knocked down a wide-open three-pointer from the top of the key late in the quarter to cut into the deficit. Cherokee County held a 15-11 lead at the end of the first.
Sawyer Kate Hulgan opened the second quarter with a huge three-pointer to trim the Cherokee County lead to one, 15-14. After a defensive stop, Jaxson Bruce drilled a three-pointer of her own to give the Lady Bears their first lead of the night at 17-15 with 5:38 remaining in the half.
Hulgan then made an excellent backdoor cut and finished off a great pass from Dukes to extend the lead to 19-15. Plainview continued its run as Hulgan added more points, including another three-pointer, pushing the lead to 24-17.
Cherokee County answered with a tough layup to cut the lead to four, and a late bucket at the buzzer trimmed Plainview’s advantage to 26-23 heading into halftime.
Cherokee County opened the third quarter with two free throws to cut the lead to two as Plainview struggled to find its rhythm early. A transition layup tied the game at 26-26 with 5:30 remaining in the third.
Annalee Schrader delivered a crucial and-one play to put the Lady Bears back on the scoreboard in the quarter and regain the lead at 29-26. Schrader added more points, though Cherokee County countered with a three-pointer.
A steal by Jaxson Bruce led to an easy layup, extending the lead to 33-29. Plainview’s full-court pressure continued to cause problems, forcing multiple turnovers and helping stretch the lead to 35-31. Cherokee County scored late in the quarter, but the Lady Bears maintained a 35-31 advantage heading into the fourth.
Plainview opened the final quarter with a quick 5-0 run, highlighted by a Duke's three-pointer and a layup from Taegan Whitmire, extending the lead to 40-31 before Cherokee called a timeout.
The teams traded baskets as Cherokee attempted a late comeback, cutting the deficit to 42-38. The Lady Bears responded with another quick run to push the lead back to nine at 47-38.
Down the stretch, both teams continued to exchange buckets. Cherokee County converted a tough and-one opportunity, though a missed free throw kept the Plainview lead at seven, 49-42.
With under a minute remaining, Plainview protected its advantage at the free-throw line. Despite a few missed opportunities at the stripe, Cherokee continued to chip away at the deficit. However, the Lady Bears’ defensive effort in the closing moments sealed the victory.
“I’m just so proud of these girls. This group is very unselfish; they don’t care who scores or who makes the all-tournament team. “They just want to win and care about each other,” said Griggs.
AnnaLee Shrader, Jaxson Bruce, and Sawyer Kate Hulgan (MVP) were named to the all-tournament team.
Sawyer Kate Hulgan led Plainview with 25 points; she was the only player in double figures.
Plainview improved to a 33-2 record and will play on Tuesday against the winner of the match between Jackson and Geneva. The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
