Craig Harris
Gallatin News Examiner
WHITE HOUSE The third-seeded Westmoreland High School girls basketball players didn’t enjoy playing in the District 9-AA Tournament consolation game.
Fourth-seeded White House Heritage didn’t enjoy the Lady Eagles being a part of it either.
The Lady Eagles dominated the first three quarters and held off a late comeback for a 48-35 victory over the tournament host on Monday evening.
Westmoreland High junior forward Karley Smith elevates for a first-quarter shot over White House Heritage junior Kaitlyn Rippy. Smith scored nine points.
Westmoreland suffered a 51-46 loss to No. 2 seed Cheatham County in Saturday evening’s semifinal game, preventing the defending champion from playing for the title again.
“It was hard for all of us,” Lady Eagle junior forward Kaitlyn Norman said. “We know we’re good enough to beat that team, but they made more plays than us.
“We have to play on. You either have to be first or third (to be in a more favorable position entering the regional tournament). It’s going to be tough, but I think we can beat them.”
Westmoreland will travel to Nashville on Friday to play the No. 2 seed from District 10-AA – either East Nashville or Pearl-Cohn – in a Region 5-AA Tournament quarterfinal game.
“We can’t control what (already) happened,” Lady Eagle head coach Cherie Abner said of the semifinal loss. “They were upset over not getting to the championship game, but they bounced back.
“We’re in good shape. That first game will be tough on the road, but we’re in the bracket we want to be in.”
Westmoreland (25-5) won both regular-season meetings between the two teams, by scores of 51-34 and 45-31.
“We just have to play it like it’s any other team,” Norman said. “We can’t think of it like, ‘we’ve beaten this team two times.’ We have to do it again.”
The Lady Eagles limited the Lady Patriots to four points over the first 10 minutes of Monday’s contest.
Westmoreland High junior point guard Gracie Oliver elevates for a first-quarter layin.
Norman scored nine points over the first nine minutes, with her baseline jump shot giving her squad a 16-4 lead early in the second stanza.
“In that first quarter, we really handled our business,” Abner said. “I looked up, and we were not up as much as I thought we should be based on how well we played.”
Lady Eagle senior guard Haley Braswell made three 3-pointers over a span of less than three minutes late in the first half, extending the lead to 17 points.
Westmoreland senior guard Jesica Eppstein caught a baseline inbounds pass and converted on an interior shot, giving her squad its biggest lead (34-16) with 2:55 remaining.
Westmoreland High senior guard Jesica Eppstein grabs a third-quarter rebound in front of White House Heritage sophomore Alex McFarlin. Eppstein scored six points.
However, White House Heritage (15-12) stormed back in the fourth quarter, pulling to within seven points following a driving layin by sophomore point guard Callie Jo Roach with 1:39 remaining.
“We got in a funk in the third quarter,” Norman said. “This time, they ran more picks on us. We weren’t used to it.
“We thought we could come out and do the same thing in the third quarter that we did (to start the game), but we still have to play hard.”
However, Norman, Eppstein and sophomore guard Darby Bowser all made free throws over the final 64 seconds to help seal the win.
Westmoreland High sophomore guard Darby Bowser releases a second-quarter 3-pointer. Bowser scored two points.
Norman finished with a team-high 17 points, and Braswell scored 14 points.
Sophomore guard Alex McFarlin – who played at Portland West Middle School two years ago – produced a game-high 18 points before fouling out, and Roach scored 11 points.
The Lady Patriots were playing without junior forward Jade Witham – who was suffering from an illness – on Monday.
With Monday’s victory, the Lady Eagles reached the 25-win mark for the second consecutive season and for the third time over the last five years.
Reach Craig Harris at charris@mtcngroup.com or at 615-575-7138. Follow him on Twitter @HarrisGNESports.
WHITE HOUSE HERITAGE (35) – Alex McFarlin 18, Callie Jo Roach 11, Bri Hay 2, Addison Holmes 2, Taylor Lopez 2.
WESTMORELAND (48) – Kaitlyn Norman 17, Haley Braswell 14, Karley Smith 9, Jesica Eppstein 6, Darby Bowser 2.
Half: 27-13, Westmoreland. Three-point goals: White House Heritage 0, Westmoreland 4 (Braswell 4). Records: White House Heritage 15-12, Westmoreland 25-5.