The DCHS Lady Tigers slipped by Smith County in a 51-50 game to clinch third place in District 8AA basketball Monday night at Hooper-Eblen Center on the Tennessee Tech Campus in Cookeville.
While the Lady Tigers jumped out to an 18-12 lead by the end of the first quarter, the Lady Owls outscored DeKalb 13-10 in the second. DeKalb County held on to a 28-25 lead at halftime.
Smith County again outpaced the Lady Tigers in the third, scoring 16 points and allowing DeKalb only 10. SCHS took a 41-38 lead at the end of the third period.
DeKalb came back to life in the fourth, but the Lady Owls presented quite a challenge. DCHS scored 13 points, and Smith County put in nine, putting the Lady tigers ahead by one at the final buzzer.
With the win, the third-place District 8AA Lady Tigers advance to the Region Tournament Friday night, Feb. 26 in Dunlap. Tip off will be at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, The Lady Tigers advanced to the semi-finals after taking the York Institute Dragonettes Friday evening down in a 55-48.
DeKalb held a 17-11 lead at the end of the first period, and outscored York 12-10 in the second to ensure a 29-21 Lady Tiger lead at halftime. While the Dragonettes outscored DeKalb 14-11 in the third period, bringing them within five points of the Lady Tigers, a hard-earned 15-13 fourth period put DCHS ahead by eight at the final buzzer.
Ashli Chew topped the DeKalb scorecard with 16 points, going 6-for-9 from the foul line and sinking five two-pointers. Jailyn Bolding was close behind with 15 points. Bolding went 6-for-6, shooting 100 percent from the line.
Morgan Pedigo put in 12 points for the Lady Tigers, all on three-pointers. Joni Robinson and Madison Parsley rang in with six points each.
The win against York put the Lady Tigers on a collision course with the Upperman Lady Bees in the semi-finals of the tourney.
Ranked second in the state with a 28-2 season record and 14-0 record in district play, the ladies from Upperman had already stopped the Lady Tigers in their tracks twice during the regular season with a 66-32 December win in Baxter and 77-40 win at DCHS on Feb. 1. The contest Saturday night would not be much different for DeKalb.
The Lady Tigers again fell to the Lady Bees, this time by a score of 48-28.
Upperman jumped out to an early lead, leaving DeKalb trailing 17-8 after the first period. The Lady Bees scored 17 more points in the second, while managed only 10. UHS held a 34-18 lead at the half.
The Lady Bees continued to pound the ladies from DeKalb in the third, outscoring them 12-5 and increasing the Upperman lead to 46-23 at the beginning of the final period. A 5-2 fourth period in DeKalb’s favor did little to even the score, and UHS cruised to the win. DeKalb went on to face Smith County in the consolation game on Feb. 22.
Jailyn Bolding scored seven points for the Lady Tigers, hitting a two-pointer, a three-pointer, and going 2-for-3 from the line. Madison Parsley and Joni Robinson put in six points each, all on three-pointers.
Ashli Chew and Lydia Brown helped out with four points each, and Macy Hedge added a point.
