The Gatlinburg-Pittman Highlanders faced the McMinn Central Chargers in a TSSAA Class 2A state tournament quarterfinal in Monte Hale Arena at the Murphy Center on Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The McMinn Central girls won 62-50. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — Johnny Morgan, the longtime McMinn Central coach with more than 1,000 wins to his credit, still got a little nervous before the Chargerettes’ Class 2A state quarterfinal Thursday.
But it had nothing to with the program’s seven-year absence from this stage.
It’s just the norm, for him and players alike.
“If you don’t get nervous, it’s time to quit,” said Morgan, who is in his 45th year of coaching.
“Whether it’s playing or coaching or anything, if it’s the first game of the year and you’re not nervous about it, it’s time to quit. If it’s the first round of the district tournament and you beat a team by 50 both times you played, and you’re not nervous, it’s time to quit. And I’ve always believed that.”
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Turns out, Morgan had nothing to worry about Thursday.
McMinn Central didn’t let state tournament jitters get the better of them, and its keen free-throw shooting throughout at the Murphy Center proved pivotal in a 62-50 win over Gatlinburg-Pittman.
McMinn Central (27-7) made 26 of 32 foul shots for a 81.3-percent clip, led by junior guard Molly Masingale’s 13-for-14 performance, and McMinn will take on Gibson County (28-8) in the Class 2A state semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Central time on Friday. Gibson County cruised in its opener, 60-37, over Riverside.
“On average, for the year, as a team, we’ve shot (free throws) above 70 (percent). And normally, if you have a team that is shooting 70, then normally you’re very successful,” said Morgan. “We’ve had some up-and-down games, but for the most part we’ve shot them well. Each individual has shot them really well.
“I just thought we are mentally tough enough to make those down the stretch.”
Never was that more apparent than the mid-point of the fourth quarter. Gatlinburg-Pittman (28-6) got a 3 by Leah Stinnett from the corner with 4:19 remaining that trimmed McMinn Central’s lead to 49-47.
But Masingale drained two foul shots to push the lead back to four.
Reagan Baker made two more at the 1:54 mark for a 53-47 buffer.
The Lady Highlanders, who were trying to make amends this week for last year’s overtime semifinal loss at state, never got closer than five points in the final two minutes.
McMinn Central went 14-for-18 at the free-throw line in the fourth.
Masingale led all scorers with 29 points. Her banked-in 3 just before the third-quarter buzzer gave McMinn Central a 44-42 lead with eight minutes to play. And her mid-range jumper in the first minute of the fourth helped extend the momentum into a four-point lead.
Sophomore guard Karina Bystry had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior forward and Miss Basketball finalist Maddy Newman led all G-P scorers with 19 points. G-P freshman Nya Burns had 14 points.
Gatlinburg-Pittman took a 28-27 lead in the halftime break, owning the rebounding advantage (22-16) to help offset an 0-for-5 clip from the perimeter and 10 first-half turnovers.
Newman accounted for 10 of G-P’s point total through 16 minutes but got two fouls and went 4-for-8 at the foul line.
Burns, who also had 10 in the first half, scored a big bucket with 39.6 seconds left and drew the foul. She missed the ensuing foul shot and G-P led 28-25.
But McMinn Central went 10-for-12 at the free-throw line in the first half, and Masingale was 6 of 6 — include two with 6.6 seconds left that trimmed their deficit to 28-27.
The Chargerettes broke the 15-15 tie after the first quarter thanks to four quick points from Bystry in the opening minutes of the second quarter, and McMinn Central led 19-17. That was their biggest lead of the half, a span that featured five lead changes and four ties.
The physical play and tightly contested game was exactly what was anticipated between these two East Tennessee powers.
“I just thought offensively all night, we were kind of out of sync,” said G-P coach Katie Moore. “Kind of, never really got into our system, which is what we depend on a lot to be successful. McMinn Central did a great job of getting us out of that system.
“I still thought when Leah (Stinnett) hit that 3 in the fourth quarter that cut it to two, I still thought I was feeling good about our chances,” Moore added later. “(But) we missed some easy ones around the basket. That’s always a gut punch when you miss bunnies. And so, at that point, our confidence was gone. We started to foul, and McMinn Central is known for being great free-throw shooters. Johnny’s been there a long time. They’re good for a reason.”