HENDERSONVILLE The Beech High girls basketball team might not have done anything well, but it did things well enough for its second consecutive victory on Tuesday evening.
Beech High junior guard McCall Decker dribbles up the court as Springfield senior Adaria Shannon pursues during first-quarter action. Decker finished with three points.
The Lady Buccaneers didn’t trail after the 3:43 mark of the second quarter and weathered a late rally from visiting Springfield for a 36-27 victory.
Beech (4-5) shut the Lady Jackets (1-8) out in the third quarter, pulling out to a 28-14 lead entering the final period, but the Lady Buccaneers were outscored 13-8 in the final frame.
Free throws played a big role in the outcome as Springfield hit just 5 of 16 foul shots in the contest. Beech shooters connected on 11 of 21 attempts from the foul line.
“If (Springfield) had made their free throws, it would have been a different game,” Beech interim head coach Troy Carnes said. “It was enough for us to get it done.”
Senior guard Deja Smith led all scorers with 16 points, including a 6-of-8 performance at the free-throw line.
“We feel fortunate that (Springfield wasn’t) hitting most of their free throws, and they weren’t hitting most of their shots,” Smith said. “That’s what really helped us.”
Beech scored six unanswered points after Springfield had trimmed the Lady Buccaneer lead to five points (30-25).
“I thought, especially late, that we had some key buckets off of offensive rebounds,” Carnes said. “We have been having trouble scoring.”
Beech High sophomore Savannah Jarratt shields the ball from Springfield sophomore Sha’tyah Bowens during second-quarter action. Jarratt scored six points.
Second-chance opportunities hurt the Lady Jackets.
“Rebounding was a very important thing that we didn’t really do (enough),” Smith said. “We need to keep encouraging each other on the court. Maybe that’ll spark us up a bit.”
Beech led 8-7 after an opening quarter that saw just one field goal from either team over the first five minutes of the contest.
“I didn’t think our intensity was anywhere near where it needed to be to beat anybody,” Carnes said. “We never really got that going. We did some things late that I’m really proud of, that enabled us to win the game, but I think we came out flat and underestimated our opponent.”
Beech scored six of the last eight points of the second quarter to take a 16-14 lead at halftime. The Lady Bucs carried that momentum all the way through the third quarter.
However, Springfield’s defense applied pressure in the fourth quarter, helping cut the lead. When junior McCall Decker fouled out with 4:24 remaining, it took a key ball-handling option out of the Lady Buccaneer lineup.
“It hurt us that McCall Decker had foul trouble early,” Carnes said. “We need her ball-handling and her scoring. We need everything that she does, and it hurt not being able to put her in there.”
Beech High senior Deja Smith dribbles into the frontcourt during first-quarter action. Smith scored a game-high 16 points.
Smith and freshman Kendra Mueller made free throws over the final 90 seconds to help Beech put the game away.
Imani Collier led Springfield with eight points.
Beech is slated to participate in the Gatlinburg-Pittman Holiday Tournament beginning on Monday.
Reach Chris Brooks at cbrooks@tennessean.com or at 615-575-7118. Follow him on Twitter @CB_SumnerSports.
SPRINGFIELD (27) – Imani Collier 8, Sha’tyah Bowens 6, Marina Sherrod 5, Adaria Shannon 4, Ja’liyah Dotson 3, Sarah Duncan 1.
BEECH (36) – Deja Smith 16, Savannah Jarratt 6, Kendra Mueller 5, Destiny Tinker 4, McCall Decker 3, Gracie Hines 2.
Half: 16-14, Beech. Three-point goals: Springfield 2 (Dotson 1, Sherrod 1), Beech 1 (Decker 1). Records, Springfield 1-8, Beech 4-5.