BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — Jada Guinn’s mind was elsewhere Friday afternoon inside the press room at MTSU’s Murphy Center. And no one blamed her.
As reporters peppered Oak Ridge girls’ basketball coach Paige Redman with questions, Guinn stared off aimlessly to her left. Hardly blinking.
The star player for the Lady Wildcats and Miss Basketball finalist had just watched a five-point lead evaporate in the final minutes of regulation of a Class AAA state semifinal and then saw her senior season come to an end in overtime to Bradley Central, 56-50.
It was a lot to process.
“To me, it’s like we’re playing 0-0. You got a fresh new start (in overtime), and that’s what we talked about,” said Redman. “We needed to needed to jump out on them and continue that momentum.
“But that didn’t happen.”
Bradley Central (33-3) scored the first six points of overtime, outscored Oak Ridge 13-7 in overtime and will play Houston (31-2), which was a 78-72, double-overtime winner over Riverdale on Friday, in the Class AAA championship at 1:30 p.m. Central time Saturday. Houston was Class AAA state runner-up last season but is seeking its first state title.
Khamari Mitchell-Steen (2) led Oak Ridge with 20 points Friday in a Class AAA state semifinal loss. (Photo: Danny Parker)
Oak Ridge (34-3) was after its first title since 1997 and second appearance in the state final in the last four years but had its 31-game win streak snapped.
The Lady Wildcats trailed at the break but took a 36-31 lead into the fourth. The momentum swung in the Lady Wildcats’ favor when Khamari Mitchell-Steen scored in transition for a 32-31 advantage and then stole the subsequent inbounds pass — her fourth steal of the day — to score and make it 34-31 with 1:06 left in the third.
Bri Dunbar’s two foul shots pushed the lead back to five (38-33) with 5:19 remaining.
After Bradley cut their deficit to 1, Shatyrah Copeland scored in the paint and Mitchell-Steen added another steal-and-score for a 42-37 advantage with 1:57 to play.
Mitchell-Steen, a sophomore, led Oak Ridge with 20 points, seven rebounds and five steals.
“That’s something that’s a strength of Khamari’s,” Redman said. “She’s done that for us all year, heading up the press and setting the tone defensively.”
Oak Ridge couldn’t hold on to that momentum, though.
Mitchell-Steen went 1-for-2 at the foul line with 38 seconds left.
Guinn missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 opportunity at the foul line with 16 seconds left. Bradley’s Jamaryn Blair made Oak Ridge pay, making an uncontested layup with 2 seconds left to force overtime at 43-all.
“They just scored. They took it to us, and we opened up (defensively). Didn’t stop them,” said Redman. “And they got a wide-open shot.”
For the second state-tournament game in a row, Bradley Central shot worse than its opponent and also got out-rebounded by its opponent and still won.
The Bearettes shot 25 percent from the floor and got outrebounded by 17 in their quarterfinal win Thursday. Friday, they shot 36.4 percent (to Oak Ridge’s 42.2) and got out-rebounded 34-26.
Still, Bradley made five of its first eight shots from the floor and owned the rebounding advantage en route to a 11-1 lead midway on Oak Ridge through the first quarter.
Guinn and Mitchell-Steen helped the comeback effort. The Lady Wildcats outscored Bradley 11-3 in the third to take a five-point lead into the fourth. Guinn, a Tennessee Tech signee and point guard, finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists and 3 blocks.
But all those numbers only made the pill tougher to swallow.
“Unfortunately, it’s part of life. Everything doesn’t always go your way. You’re not always going to be the best. You’re not always going to win,” said Redman. “But you have to put your best foot forward.
“You got to learn from experiences. Everything that happens, whether good or bad, there’s something to be learned from it. You have to carry it over. These girls have battled all year. I would love to know the number of people who never dreamed we’d be where we are right now. They had faith. They believed, and they fought. That’s something that’ll carry over into life – the ability to prove people wrong and work hard.”
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