Kayle Yates drives to the goal during a Class 2A state semifinal against York Institute on Thursday, March 10, 2022, at Middle Tennessee State’s Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Photo by: Danny Parker).
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO – As dominant and game-changing as Maddy Newman was in Thursday’s Class 2A state semifinal, she also left MTSU’s Murphy Center every bit as humbled and motivated.
The 6-foot-2 standout sophomore from the Gatlinburg-Pittman girls’ basketball team showed an unexpected yet refreshing level of maturity after heartbreaking defeat to York, answering questions from reporters about her 31 points — and also about her missed 2-foot shot at the end of regulation that would have sent the Lady Highlanders to the state title game for the first time ever.
But she didn’t shy away from any of it: good or bad.
“I think that’s going to help us grow as a team, for those of us who are coming back,” Newman said of the loss Thursday.
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Sage Smith, a right-handed senior guard at York, drove into the lane from the right wing with her left hand and lofted up a lefty 8-foot floater with 2.5 seconds left in overtime that gave York a 66-65 win over Gatlinburg-Pittman in the Class 2A state semifinals.
Just 2-for-7 shooting on the night before that shot, Smith nearly didn’t get to shoot the game-winner at all. York coach Michael Green said he saw her with the ball in the corner with 6-7 seconds left and nearly called for a timeout.
But he chose to let it ride on his senior’s shoulders. Smith finished with just eight points but recorded the biggest shot in York girls’ basketball history in nearly 40 years.
York (27-6) will play in a state title game for second time, the first since winning it all in 1984.
Gatlinburg-Pittman (28-10) led by three in overtime with 29.2 seconds to go but the Lady Highlanders were denied their first-ever trip to the state finals, as they were not in a position to defend because of foul trouble and they also got careless with ball security.
“I like that left-handed runner,” said Smith. “So when I saw I could get to my left and I got past that big girl, it was pretty much open. I just shot it.”
Newman had just three points at halftime, when the Lady Highlanders trailed by eight. She began her ascent in the latter minutes of the third and continued that into the start the fourth, willing her team into the lead.
Her 3-point play at the 7-minute, 39-second mark of the fourth increased G-P’s lead to 40-36 — the Lady Highlanders’ largest of the contest at that point.
And while that lead was gone 1 minute later — York knotting the game at 40-all — Newman snagged the advantage right back, putting back in a teammate’s miss for a 42-40 lead with 6:20 to play. Newman finished 10 of 17 from the floor and 11 of 13 at the foul line. She also had nine rebounds and three blocks.
“(Maddy) did a great job of changing her mentality (after halftime), like ‘this team needs you to score. That’s what you’ve done for us all year,'” said G-P coach Katie Moore. “And she stepped up to the challenge and did that for us.
“Our guards did a good job of getting her the ball when she was open.”
Such was the pattern in the fourth. York would tie. Newman would regain the lead.
All told, the lead swapped hands 11 times Thursday and the game featured 13 ties.
Newman tied the game at 51-all with 51 seconds to go but fouled a York shooter on the other end, despite the block being clean.
York’s Josie Linder, a sophomore at York, missed the first but made the second.
Newman made the Lady Dragons pay on the other end. Her 3-point play with 16.7 seconds left gave G-P a 54-52 lead.
With four fouls already being called on Newman, York attacked inside more and scored with 7 seconds left to tie the game.
G-P dissected York’s defense in the final seconds and Newman was left wide open at point-blank range. She got an uncontested layup off before the buzzer — but had to rush the shot and it missed.
“I didn’t know how much time I had left. So I just tried to get it up there,” said Newman. “But, I missed it, so, you know.
“You just have to rub off the mistakes and keep playing no matter what.”
That’s what Newman did.
She didn’t crumble mentally; rather, she scored on all three of her first field-goal attempts in overtime. The Lady Highlanders led 60-58 with 2 minutes left in OT.
Leah Stinnett’s three-point play — off a post-pass assist from Newman — gave G-P a 63-60 lead. Stinnett finished with 16 points.
Kayle Yates went to the foul line with 29.2 seconds left in overtime. She made both for a 65-62 lead.
York scored a layup on the opposite end, and Gatlinburg-Pittman threw the ball away on the inbounds pass, giving York the basketball with 16.5 seconds to play.
G-P knocked the ball away and players from both sides dove on the ball. A jump-ball was called, giving York possession again with 12.3 seconds left.
Smith darted into the lane from the right wing, threw up a left-handed runner from 8 feet out and it fell through for a York 66-65 lead with 2.5 seconds to go.
“At the end of the day, you got to be able to defend,” said Moore.”If we defend for 5 seconds, we’re going on feeling like York, instead of like we do right now.”
The deep pass to Newman wasn’t open on G-P’s ensuring possession, so G-P inbounded the ball to guard Lily Stinnett, whose heave from half court was on line but a couple feet short.
“The first half, I thought we didn’t really come out to play,” said Moore. “I thought we came out trying not to lose, instead of trying to win. We just sat around and waited to see what York was going to do to us instead of doing what we do.
“In the second half, we played G-P basketball and you could tell a huge difference. … We were lucky to get to go into overtime without their two bigs (on the floor). That was on our side, as well. But not being able to take care of the ball late in the game was huge.”