MURFREESBORO, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Lady Wildcats of Clarksville High School traveled to the Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University on Tuesday night for the quarterfinal of the BlueCross Basketball Championships.
They faced Green Hill High School, whom they had defeated earlier in the season, 55-37. The Hawks went on to avenge that loss and defeated Clarksville, 55-45, ending the Wildcats’ season.
The Lady Wildcats finished with a season record of 27-5 under longtime head coach Brian Rush. Before losing in the quarterfinals, their team had won 13 games in a row and had not lost a game since the end of January.
Clarksville High began their postseason by advancing to their district championship and going on to defeat the Rossview Lady Hawks in the district finale. Then, they swept the following schools to become regional champions: Kenwood High, Henry County and Dickson County.
After conquering Dickson County in the regional championship, the Lady Wildcats hosted their sectional game against Whitehaven. Clarksville High beat Whitehaven 56-32 to punch their ticket to the state tournament.
Coaches corner
Despite the loss, Berry and coach Brian Rush saw positives. Rush was happy with the effort, even if it resulted in fouls. He saw moments where the team made runs, but Green Hill had an answer.
Rush and Berry were optimistic for next year, when all but the lone senior Calhoun should return. The coach praised his young team, many of whom came into the year thinking they would be playing junior varsity, and the growth they have shown.
“For us, I think we’ve got to get better at driving. I think body strength’s going to be important. And I think we’ve got to become a better shooting team,” Rush said.
“(Berry) shot, I think for the year, 43% from the three-point line,” he continued. “But I don’t know that we had anyone else doing that … I think that’s going to be a focus for us, finding other players that you have to guard.”
When asked about the defense, Rush said, “Defense is what we’ve hung our hat on all year long. You look and you go, ‘Wow, we only allowed them to score 13 buckets.’ So, we only allowed 26 points from the field.
“Now what we have to get better at is fouling. We gave them 26 more points from the free throw line, and those are the points we have to figure out how to take off the board. … A bunch of them were at the end where we were fouling … but we’re going to have to learn how to play in a way where we don’t get in those foul situations.
“Because that’s the one time where our defense can’t help us – when we’re standing there and watching the girl shoot. But we feel when the ball is on the floor, we got a chance to stop anybody,” Rush said.
Berry described her mindset at the end of the game pretty simply. “We’re going to be here next year and it’s OK.” This game, she said, will serve as even more motivation. With the team making it farther and farther each of the last three years, she felt confident for the upcoming season.
“Next year, we’re going to win state.”
Ryan Vinson contributed to this report.