By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Survive and advance.
The “name of the game” in postseason basketball, Union City took care of the essentials in the District 13A Tournament semifinals against Dresden.
Sophie Theobald sent the game into overtime by sinking the second of two free throws with 1.3 left in regulation, and the Lady Tornadoes then outscored Dresden 10-4 in the extra session to earn a 47-41 victory Thursday night at UT Martin’s Skyhawk Arena.
The win not only earned UC (20-10) a spot in Saturday’s championship game against top-ranked and unbeaten Greenfield (28-0), but also secured a home game for the Lady Twisters in the first round of the regional tournament next week.
Additionally, it marked the first time since the Union City girls won the Class 1A state championship in 2013-14 that the program has reached the 20-win mark in a season.
Thursday’s effort certainly wasn’t Union City’s most sightly of the year, but the second-seeded Purple and Gold came up big when it counted the most in beating No. 3 Dresden for the third time in as many meetings this season.
Jada Williams carried the bulk of the offensive load, pouring in a game-high 21 points, including three free throws to go along with a pretty assist to teammate Shyon Stephems to open the OT. Theobald made a pair of 3-pointers in the first half to keep her team close amid offensive struggles, and Kyndall Davis bottomed a huge trifecta with 50 seconds left in the overtime to give the Tornado girls some cushion.
Amari Bonds, UC’s leading scorer on the season, was the focus of Dresden’s box-and-one defense and managed just a single field goal. That bucket, though, gave the Lady Twisters the lead for good with 1:46 left in the added period.
“It doesn’t have to be pretty this time of the year,” a relieved Union City head coach Chuck Reedy said following the contest. “Other than playing good defense – which I thought was the only reason we were still in it for three quarters – we didn’t do a lot of things well for a good part of the game.
“But I was so proud of our heart and intensity in the fourth quarter and overtime. We just decided we weren’t going to get beat. And we didn’t.”
UC trailed most of the contest, and by as many as seven points in the third quarter. Williams scored on a drive late in the stanza to close the gap to 34-31 heading into the stretch run, then evened things up with a pair of free throws (34-all) with 5:10 to play.
Stephens took a feed from Williams and scored to give the Lady Tornadoes their first lead since the early going midway through the fourth quarter.
After Tinley Winn put Dresden back up with a 3-pointer at the 3:33 mark, the two squads then traded missed opportunities to aid their respective causes before a frantic final seconds.
Bonds missed a layup and Stephens was off on a follow shot before the gritty Theobald somehow came up with another offensive rebound under the goal and was fouled. The Lady Lions’ Katie Washburn, her team’s leading scorer with 14 points, injured her ankle on the play and did not return.
After a timeout, Theobald missed the first of her two free throws, but made the second to signal four more minutes of play with a 37-all score.
Davis’ triple was easily the biggest shot of the overtime for Union City, giving her team a 44-39 edge.
“I was yelling ‘no, no… great shot, Kyndall!’” Reedy smiled. “It really was a huge play for us.
“I don’t know what else to say about Sophie (Theobald) and Kylie (McCadney). They were tremendous for us defensively. We might not have forced a lot of turnovers, but I thought our constant pressure caused some fatigue there late. And Jada was just outstanding on the offensive end. She was a little down on herself after taking some bad shots, but she really carried us in the fourth quarter and overtime.”
Davis and Theobald both finished with eight points for the victors, while Stephens ended up with seven.
Saturday’s title game against Greenfield is set to begin at 7:30 p.m., following the consolation between Dresden and Gleason.
DISTRICT 13A TOURNAMENT
GIRLS SEMIFINALS
DRESDEN — 41
Katie Washburn 14, Tinley Winn 11, Childress 7, Johnson 4, Curry 3, Mangiercinis 2.
UNION CITY — 47
Jada Williams 21, Davis 8, Theobald 8, Stephens 7, Bonds 2, McCadney 1,
Dresden 12 9 13 3 4 — 41
Union City 9 12 10 6 10 — 47
Records: Dresden 19-9; Union City 20-10.
Next Games: UC plays No. 1 ranked Greenfield for the district tournament championship, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Dresden meets Gleason in the consolation game, Saturday night at 6.