With Etowah nipping at their heels, No. 4 state-ranked Mill Creek buried a pair of threes in the closing minutes of the second quarter as part of 10-4 run that opened up a double-digit lead it would not relinquish, as the Lady Hawks ousted the 10th-ranked Lady Eagles, 55-41, from the second round of the Class AAAAA state tournament, March 3 at Mill Creek.
“They certainly shot the ball better than we anticipated,” said Etowah coach Bob Westbrook, whose squad reached the state tournament for the first time in four years and finished the season 23-7. “We didn’t anticipate them knocking down those threes the way they did right before halftime, and that really hurt us. That put us in a 12-point hole that we never recovered from.
“But that’s what the state tournament is all about – you play good teams night-in and night-out, and we just didn’t bring our A game.”
Stephanie Huffman led Etowah with 16 points, five assists and three rebounds, and fellow junior Kaycee Cash had eight points, nine boards and three blocks.
While keeping it close early, the Lady Eagles never led in the contest and watched what was only a 14-11 deficit following the first quarter extend to 31-19 by the break.
The situation got worse for Etowah in the third.
After a slow start to the half offensively for both squads, the Lady Hawks’ (26-4) Christina McDannald buried her second three of the night to extend Mill Creek’s advantage to 15 midway through the frame.
Back-to-back baskets by Huffman to end the third had the Lady Eagles back to within 11, 39-28, before the Lady Hawks once again pushed their lead to 15 midway through the fourth. Then, after a 7-2 surge had Etowah within 10, Mill Creek put the game away from the free throw line converting 8-of-11 attempts in the final 2:07.
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Brandon Michea | Ledger-News
Etowah’s Roxie Oswalt (21) drives against Mill Creek’s Bethel Ogbuehi during second-round state tournament play on March 3.
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Etowah seniors Leah Hixon, Brooke Salet, Ashley Renfro and Krysta Lewis combined for 14 points. Hixon added four assists and a pair of steals.
While the loss spelled the end of the road on the Lady Eagles’ impressive 2009-10 campaign, it did not come without its silver lining.
“We’re back,” Westbrook said. “This team brought us back. These girls brought us back.
“I counted up how many teams in (Class) AAAAA had 23 wins this year and there were only eight. That’s a pretty amazing number.”
“We have to build on this,” said Huffman, one of six juniors on the squad. “We set a high standard this year, and we don’ want to disappoint next year with all of these juniors coming back. I don’t think we can ever replace the team we had this year, but we’ll try.
“This year’s experiences just teaches us that nothing comes easy. To get to the elite eight and beyond, we have to work our tails off.”
The 23 wins were the most by a Lady Eagles squad since posting a 25-6 mark in 2005-06.
