Madelyn Ladd (4) and the Webb Spartans fell to the Lipscomb Mustangs, 47-37, in a TSSAA Division II Class AA state tournament semifinal at Hooper Eblen Center on Thursday, March 3, 2022, in Cookeville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
COOKEVILLE – If the Webb School of Knoxville envisioned a perfect start for their Thursday state semifinal against Lipscomb, it likely looked similar to what actually transpired on the court after tip.
But the conclusion of the contest definitely didn’t mirror what was in their mind’s eye.
Lipscomb Academy threw in a defensive wrinkle and rallied past the Lady Spartans for a 47-37 win in the Division II-AA state semifinals at Tennessee Tech University and advanced to Saturday’s championship against heavily favored Ensworth (25-4).
Ensworth is 3-0 against Lipscomb this season, winning the last two meetings by 24 and 30 points, respectively. Ensworth also eliminated Catholic by 22 points Thursday.
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But Webb School of Knoxville (19-12) appeared early on to be ready to advance to a title game. It stormed to a 10-2 lead in the first quarter but its first state-tournament appearance since 2018 fell victim to a huge discrepancy at the foul line.
Lipscomb Academy made 21 of 27 free throws while Webb made three of four.
“We were prepared. We knew what we were going to do, going into the game,” said Webb coach Shelley Collier. “I thought they (Webb players) did a great job of executing.
“They were on a roll. Then we just started taking shots we didn’t need. And they (Lipscomb) are shooting free throws. We’re fouling and they’re going to the free-throw line — and that’s the difference in the game is the foul line. It just seems like they were there an awful lot.”
Added Collier: “I thought we had some opportunities to get to the line. And for whatever reason, we didn’t get to get there.”
Lily Hirsh and Shae Berry made 3s in the opening spurt for Webb. And Sheelove Knowles’ layup with 5 minutes, 19 seconds left in the first quarter made for the 10-2 advantage.
But then Webb went on a 7:33 scoring drought, allowing Lipscomb to get back in it and tie the game by the break.
“Before the half, they switched to the zone, which slowed our playcalling down,” said Collier. “All they’ve run all year is man, where they switch everything. So we were prepared for that. I didn’t think this team would play zone. I’ve known her (Lipscomb’s coach) for a long time. They switched up defenses a lot. We prepared more for the man stuff, and the zone stuff — we got shots in the paint and they just weren’t falling.”
Lipscomb outscored Webb 13-8 in the third quarter to take a 31-26 lead into the fourth quarter. The Lady Mustangs pulled ahead, 41-31, with 2:52 to play.
Eighth-grader Meeyah Green scored a game-high 18 points for Webb. She started the third quarter with eight quick points to give Webb a 26-22 lead by the midpoint of the third.
But by the time she pumped in a 3 with 2:26 left in the fourth, that only cut Lipscomb’s lead to 41-34. And then Lipscomb responded on the other end with a score and the Lady Spartans’ next two possessions ended in a turnover and missed layup, respectively.
Webb ascended from Division II-A to Division II-AA this season and reached the final four when some pundits likely didn’t give them a chance. Longtime head coach Collier attributed the success to getting the culture back within the program.
“There’s a period of time the last couple of years where I feel like we lost our culture a little bit,” she said. “We’ve been fighting to get that back. We had one year when we didn’t have any seniors. Covid hit us. Then some people came into the program who didn’t understand the program and the culture of the program.
“And this team has gotten it back this year. We’ve talked it and preached it every day. We’ve had so many injuries. I’ve got more people on the bench injured than I’ve ever had, who would have contributed and who had a good summer for us.”
Webb graduates three senior starters in Berry, Hirsh and Knowles.
But with Green and college prospect Madelyn Ladd (five points, 10 rebounds) back as building blocks for 2022-23, don’t count out a return trip to state for Webb.
“Just seeing how teams of the past did, we see that and try to build off of it,” said Green.
“We got so close (this year). We’re going to come back definitely.”