Senior point guard Delana Debusk (22) and the Greeneville Greene Devils faced the Jackson South Side Hawks in a TSSAA Class 3A state tournament quarterfinal at Murphy Center on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The South Side girls won 62-54. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO – Jackson South Side girls’ basketball coach Brent McNeal found himself in an abnormal head space Tuesday night following a Class 3A state quarterfinal against Greeneville.
Typically after his Lady Hawks play, he has just watched them pressure, swarm and siphon the hope from their opponent in the first half and casually wait for the clock to run out in the second.
And while that script looked like it might play out early against Greeneville, the Lady Greene Devils unleashed their own unrelenting brand of basketball in return, pushing South Side to the brink of an upset at MTSU’s Murphy Center.
But the Lady Hawks had one last surge and fended off Greeneville, 62-54.
Chloe Marsh and Delana Debusk led Greeneville with 10 points apiece, and the Lady Greene Devils somehow managed to stay close to a South Side team that shot 18 percent better from the floor and had 11 more rebounds.
“Luckily, we had enough reserve energy to finish it out,” a relieved McNeal said.
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South Side (23-2) advanced to face Page (31-3) in the state semifinal at 10 a.m. Central time on Friday. Greeneville’s season concluded at 27-9, having made the program’s first appearance at state since 2010.
Greeneville played South Side closer than anyone since the Lady Hawks lost on Dec. 29.
“I attribute it to our schedule. If you look at the schedule and who we have played, they play a lot like that (South Side) team. So we’ve had to endure this before and get us ready,” said Greeneville coach Annette Watts. “Bearden. Farragut. Upperman.
“We’ve played so many that are down here.”
Greeneville trailed 19-9 after the first quarter and that deficit swelled to as many as 15 in the second quarter. South Side’s speed, agility and defensive pressure forced the Lady Greene Devils into ball-handling mistakes, rushed shots, errant passes and just a general sense of instability.
In short: South Side caused orchestrated chaos.
“It was a little nerve-wracking,” DeBusk said of South Side’s defense.
But Lindy Carter’s layup with 57 seconds left in the second quarter and Grace Hayes’ 3 with 12 seconds before the break calmed the waters, slicing South Side’s lead to just 31-24.
And when South Side built the advantage back up into double digits, another Greeneville player came to the rescue. Sophomore guard Anna Shaw hit a 3 with 26 seconds left in the third and then banked in a runner in the lane at the third-quarter buzzer, to trim Greeneville’s deficit to 47-42.
Greeneville just wouldn’t wilt.
Though Greeneville star Lauren Bailey struggled to a nine-point night on 3-for-15 shooting, she settled down late and banged home a big 3 early in the fourth. And when Marsh scored with 6:55 to play Greeneville, the Lady Devils tied South Side at 47-all.
But no upset ensued.
Two 3-point plays by South Side’s Jaidynn Askins and Albany Collins midway through the fourth quarter put the Lady Hawks ahead by four (51-47) and seven (55-48), respectively.
Collins finally put Greeneville away with a floater in the lane and some free throws.
South Side shot 52.3 percent from the field but struggled at the foul line (12 of 25).
“All the films we watched, they’d didn’t shoot the ball as well as they did tonight, except for (Albany Collins),” said Watts, referring to South Side’s diminutive guard who had 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting. “I’m so proud of this team. If you look at us, we’re not real big. We’re not real fast. We’re not this or that.
“But we are: we’re just tough little nuggets.”
LOOKING AHEAD: Greeneville loses starters Grace Hayes and point guard Delana Debusk to graduation, but returns the rest of its roster for 2022-23.
This week’s state tournament appearance could be a building blocks for longer stays in Murfreesboro.
“That was our intention: get here, play as hard as you can, if you can go a round or two rounds let’s go. But you got to get here,” said Watts. “You got to be here to know this feeling and understand that environment out there.
“Now the people coming back here next year will be much more prepared and they know the route to get here and how hard it is.”
5STAR PHOTOS: Greeneville Lady Greene Devils vs. Jackson South Side – March 8, 2022