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State champions beat Lady Tigers
Maddison Parsley drives
Maddison Parsley, shown in action in an earlier meeting with the defending state champions, had a single point Monday night in the Lady Tiger game against Upperman; however, that single point gave DeKalb a one-point win and sends the Lady Tigers ahead to the regional finals Wednesday night. - photo by Duane Sherrill

The defending state champions shut down the potent Lady Tiger offense this past week as Upperman handed DeKalb a 46-29 defeat in a defensive struggle.

Coming off an upset of undefeated Sparta the week before, the Lady Tigers ran found themselves in a dog fight with the visiting Lady Bees, the defending state champions stingy when it came to defense.

“We never could get in rhythm,” said Coach Danny Fish of the funk the Lady Tigers could not shoot themselves out of after scoring just four points in the first period.

Mya Ruch drives
Mya Ruch goes to the basket against Upperman. - photo by Duane Sherrill

While the Lady Tigers had issues all night shooting from the floor, it was the Upperman defense that wore on the hosts as they double teamed Kadee Ferrell who had 26 points against Sparta just days before. While leading DeKalb in scoring on the night against Upperman, she was limited to eight points, meaning there were no Lady Tigers in double digits. In total, only four different players scored for DeKalb on the night.

Down 11-4 after one, the Lady Tigers were able to muster seven points in the second thanks to a Maddison Parsley three while limiting Upperman to just six points in the physical quarter. The low 17-11 pace would only slightly pick up after half-time as Emme Colwell led her team in the stanza with five points. However, her work was offset by Upperman’s Reagan Hunt who scored six of her game high 15 points in the third, giving her squad a 31-23 lead going into the fourth.

While playing tenacious defense in the final quarter before the ruckus home crowd, the Lady Tigers were still unable to find the basket as the scrambling Upperman defense gave few open looks. In the end, the Lady Tigers could only must six points in the final quarter while the Lady Bees doubled that total for the winning margin.

Scoring for the Lady Tigers along with Ferrell were Maddison Parsley, Emme Colwell and Mya Ruch, all with seven. The loss dropped the Lady Tigers to 12-5 on the season and wrestled their share of first place in the district from their clutches as they prepare to visit district foe Macon County Friday night. It was Macon County who Upperman beat 64-42 in the finals of the state tournament last year. Upperman’s only in-state loss this year was to Chetham County by a bucket on Nov. 27. Their other two losses came in the Nike Tournament of Champions against teams from California and Nebraska in Phoenix, Ariz., over the holidays.