FRANKLIN — The final score wasn’t quite indicative of just how close Tuesday’s turnover-filled District 11-AAA girls basketball matchup was between Dickson County and Centennial.
Dickson County’s Ragan Purvine looks for an open teammate as Centennial’s Malea Robertson defends during Tuesday’s midseason District 11-AAA matchup.
A pair of Dickson County guards made sure of that.
“It didn’t really turn out how we wanted it to, and we had to really fight for this win,” said Dickson County junior Emily Beard, who scored nine of her 12 points in the closing minutes to help seal her squad’s 60-49 win. “I just concentrated and knew I had to knock down shots to help keep the lead.”
After playing to a 40-40 tie through three quarters, Dickson County’s Lainey Reed spotted her team some breathing room by burying back-to-back 3-pointers around the six-minute mark, and Beard connected on 5-of-5 from the free-throw line in the final 2:34.
“Emily Beard was in foul trouble in the first half and didn’t shoot it like she normally does,” Dickson County coach Greg Tipps said. “We’re a different team with her on the floor, and I thought Lainey Reed — the two 3s she hit — really put us over the hump.”
Centennial coach Tony Hill looks on during Tuesday’s midseason District 11-AAA matchup against visiting Dickson County.
Vanderbilt signee Lea Lea Carter finished with a game-high 19 points for Dickson County (13-2, 3-0 11-AAA), which committed nine of its 13 turnovers in the first half. Sophomore post Kailey Rosenbaum added 12 and Reed contributed 11
“Tied at the half and tied at the end of three,” Centennial coach Tony Hill said. “We just didn’t finish, but I’m proud of my young team … I think on a level it validates us a little bit. I’m not a moral victory guy, but I think it validates the fact that we can play with anybody in our district.
“I’m not saying we can beat everyone in our district, but I think tonight we proved we can play with the best.”
Sophomore guard Shantel Flye finished with a team-leading 17 points for Centennial (11-2, 1-2), while freshmen post Ashland Harden added 14 points.
“Some turnovers at some key points hurt us, but Ashland played extremely well and did some really good things on the inside,” Hill added. “I just thought our entire team played really well for about 3 1/2 quarters, and we just didn’t finish the basketball game.”
Reach Michael Murphy at 615-259-8262 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.