How Coalfield made history at TSSAA girls state basketball tournament with Class 1A quarterfinal win
MURFREESBORO − Coalfield may not have been the most likely choice to make history at the TSSAA girls basketball state tournament.
But that didn't stop the Yellow Jackets from accomplishing just that Wednesday in the Class 1A state quarterfinals at Middle Tennessee State University's Murphy Center.
Coalfield knocked off defending state runner-up Moore County, 54-41, to advance to the semifinals for the first time in program history.
Yellow Jackets coach Josh Wright accomplished the feat in his first year at the helm. Coalfield had only been to state twice (2005, 2010) and lost by double digits in the quarterfinal each time.
"We got close a couple of years ago," Wright said. "But for us to make it and get over the hump with our first win is a great, great feeling. I'm so proud of these girls."
Coalfield (31-5) will play Van Buren County ― a 68-32 winner over Memphis Middle College ― at 9:30 a.m. Friday in the semifinals.
Coalfield wasn't picked by many to upend a veteran Moore County (24-4) squad, especially considering Coalfield entered the game with two freshmen and two sophomores in the starting lineup.
But it may have been youth that worked to the Yellow Jackets' advantage.
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"We just play together," said Coalfield sophomore guard Alexis Hammock, who scored 13 points in the win. "Honestly, it doesn't matter how old we are or age or anything. We're a young team but we play like we're old. It's our first year being together, but we play like we've been together forever."
Coalfield's small community of less than 3,000 people rallied around the team before heading to Murfreesboro.
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"It's just a great place," said Wright, a 1999 Coalfield graduate who was part of the 1998 state championship baseball team. "In about 36 hours we raised enough money to come down here for the whole week, feed the girls and get them down here. It was unbelievable. I don't know how many calls and text messages we got for good luck, even from other communities around our area. It means so much."
Mattie Beard led Coalfield with 14 points. Lilly-Claire Lowe added 12 points. The Yellow Jackets led 23-18 at halftime and built the advantage to 44-32 by the end of the third.
TOP PLAYERS: Top players entering TSSAA girls basketball state tournament
Miss Basketball finalist Ellie Graham led Moore County with 13 points. The Raiders shot just 29% from the field.
Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@dnj.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TSSAA basketball girls state tournament: Coalfield advances to semifinal
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