LOUDON, Tenn. – Since coming back home to Meigs County in 2003 to assume the reins of the girls basketball program, there are very few situations Jason Powell hasn’t experienced as a coach.
But until Friday night’s District 5-2A tournament, Powell had never coached a team ranked No. 1 in the state.
For the first quarter, the Lady Tigers looked anything but the premier team in Class AA after being elevated into the top slot earlier in the week.
But Ansley Wade made sure the voters got it right. The sophomore nailed four three-pointers to score a career-high 20 points off the bench in leading Meigs County (28-2) to a 55-28 win over Sequoyah in the district tournament semifinals hosted by Loudon.
The Lady Tigers will face McMinn Central in Tuesday night’s 6 p.m. championship game. The Chargerettes defeated Sweetwater, 47-33, behind Melia Baker’s 26 points. McMinn Central handed Meigs County one of its two losses on the season, a one-point defeat that was atoned for when the Lady Tigers won by 20 in the rematch.
“We’ve had different people at different times step up off the bench like Ansley did tonight,” Powell said. “I think that adds to our ability to be a complete team. If it wasn’t for her in the first half, I don’t know what we would’ve done.”
Meigs County missed all but one of its first 12 shots to open the contest, trailing by five points at one point. But Wade connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lady Tigers their first lead to close the frame.
Wade continued her assault in the second period, scoring 14 of her team’s 18 points during one stretch to lead the Lady Tigers to a 30-19 advantage at intermission.
“I think after that big shot at the end of the first quarter, I gained some confidence,” Wade said. “Then they kept feeding me the ball when my teammates would drive and get me open shots. I’ve made a couple of 3’s in a game, but not that many.”
Once Wade ignited the Meigs County offense, it seemed to serve as a wake-up call defensively as well. The Lady Tigers forced 21 Sequoyah turnovers while limiting the Lady Chiefs to only nine second-half points.
“That first half was as lackadaisical as I’ve seen,” Powell said. “I threw them out of practice on Wednesday for the same lack of effort I saw in the first half. We just didn’t have a lot of energy for some reason early on.
“In the second half we started getting up on the ball and started getting some steals. We’ve had some games like that, so I just pretty much go full court end-to-end to generate some energy. For the most part, I’m a defensive coach and there’s never an excuse to not play defense. Some nights you’re going to miss shots, but we can still give effort.”
Point guard Jacelyn Stone was a nemesis to Sequoyah all night, forcing numerous turnovers while her ball handling wizardry led to several easy baskets as she drove the Lady Tigers’ fast break.
Jaci Powell, who scored nine of her 13 points in the second half, said there was no added pressure in shouldering the No. 1 ranking for her father’s team.
“We’re aware of it, but we’re more focused on playing the game,” Jaci Powell said. “We’ve been playing together since the fourth grade, so it’s really not something we think about. We’re just out there trying to have fun and win games.”
Bearing the responsibility of carrying top-ranking was a new experience for the Lady Tiger coach, although Meigs County spent plenty of weeks atop the polls during their heyday in the 1990s when they won a pair of state titles during five straight trips to the state tournament. The ranking is even more impressive considering Meigs County starts four sophomores and a junior.
“I’ve never coached a team ranked No. 1,” Jason Powell said. “The highest was third, and for several years we’ve been fortunate to be around sixth or seventh. We sure didn’t represent that ranking well early in the game. But we’re so young, I’m sure this will be a great lesson for them going forward that we’re always going to get everyone’s best shot.”
Mallorie Harrell led the Lady Chiefs with 16 points, all but two of those coming in the first half.
(To contact Paul Payne, email paulpayne6249@gmail.com or via Twitter @Paul_A_Payne)
Meigs County 9 21 11 14 – 55
Sequoyah 7 12 5 4 – 28
MEIGS COUNTY (55) Jaci Powell 13, A. Crowder 4, Stone 4, Kenny 8, E. Crowder 3, Ansley Wade 20, Bales 3, Crabtree, Crager.
SEQUOYAH (28) Mallorie Harrell 16, Belcher 1, Brackett 5, Wiggins 4, Borden 2, Underwood, Weese, Bailey.
3 Point Goals: Meigs County 8 (Wade 4, Powell 2, Stone 1, Kenny 1); Sequoyah 3 (Harrell 2, Brackett 1)