Maria Foust drives past the AC Defenders
The Lady Cougars had many lofty goals to accomplish when they began the season. A couple of weeks ago they clinched the regular season district title. Now they have brought home the school’s first district tournament title since 1991. It was not an easy road to win the title as the Lady Mavericks of Anderson County fought them to the very end and beyond. In the end the Lady Cougars proved to everyone why they were championship material as they brought home a 59-54 overtime victory.
The Lady Cougars started out strong in the contest with a dominating first half. The Lady mavericks refused to give up though and whittled away at the Lady Cougars lead. As time ran out AC’s Cayla Oglesby hit a buzzer beating three point shot to send the game into overtime. Overtime proved to be the domain of the Lady Cougars as they put up 9 points to the Lady Maverick’s 4 to clinch the tournament title. Kristin Chapman hit a pair of free throws at the end to put the final nails in the coffin for the Lady Mavericks.
Lady Cougar Head Coach Ryan Browning was thrilled with his team’s success. “I thought we were going to be champs about ten minutes sooner. It was a superb ball game both ways. We came out very aggressive in the first half but the AC defensive effort kept us from getting many good touches on the ball in the second half. I was worried when Oglesby hit the three pointer, if it came down to that situation again we would have fouled her. We did have a great team effort tonight. Maria Foust played excellent ball,” said Browning.
Tournament MVP Kristin Chapman is flanked by All-Tournament teammates Courtney Morris and Maria Foust
Foust led the team in scoring with 20 points. Courtney Morris was not far behind with 19. Kristin Chapman had 9 points on the evening including some critical shots from the free throw line. Shayla Goins had 8 points and Niki Ward had 3 to round out the scoring for the Lady Cougars.
After the game Morris and Foust were named to the All-Tournament team. Chapman brought home the tournament MVP honors.
The Lady Cougars will host the Lady Governors of William Blount High School Friday night in the first round of the Regional Tournament. Tip off is at 7 in the John RW Brown Gymnasium.
