Walton-Verona trailed by 16 early in the third quarter on a stage none of the team had ever been on before.
Instead of folding, the Bearcats fought like a team refusing to let their season end quietly. In the end, though, it was Anderson County who came out on top, 55-54, in the girls 8th Region Tournament quarterfinals at Henry County High School.
Walton-Verona didn’t have a senior on the roster and with their last game in the 8th Region coming on February 28, 2022, experience wasn’t something the team could lean on in moments of adversity.
Still, trailing 35-19, the Bearcats went on a 16-6 run to close the third quarter. Down 52-43 in the fourth, they fought back again, tying the game at 54 and eventually earning a chance to win in the final four seconds.
Walton got the ball to junior Elin Logue, the team’s top scorer with 19 points, but her three from the wing didn’t fall. Sophomore Nova Dryden grabbed the offensive rebound and launched a desperation shot, but it missed as well.
Their comeback, and their season, had come to an end.
“It showed the resiliency and fight they built throughout their year,” Walton-Verona head coach Rianna Gayheart said. “If that were the 10th, 15th, maybe even 20th game of the season, we don’t know if that result would have been anywhere close to what it was. To give ourselves a chance to win in the end is what we wanted. I’m just really proud of the fight they developed over the course of the season.”
The Bearcats used a full-court press late in the game that forced turnovers and gave them a chance to get back in it.
It worked, but Anderson County drilled 10 three-pointers, including five by Andie Beasley, who was one of two double-digit scorers for the Lady Bearcats.
In the regular-season meeting between the teams, Walton-Verona fell 68-62 at home. All-8th Region member Emily Jarrard had scored 29 points in that game. This time, Walton’s defense focused on her, limiting her to 16 points.
It also opened up opportunities from outside.
“Our big kid had 29 against them in the first game,” Anderson County head coach Clay Birdwhistell said. “They were doing a good job of sending two and sometimes even three to keep her from going, so people had to make shots.”
Anderson’s threes came early and often, going 3-for-3 right from tip-off and sparking a 9-0 run. The Lady Bearcats added two more triples in the first quarter to lead 20-9. Walton-Verona outscored Anderson 10-9 in the second but still trailed 29-19 at halftime.
In the third, Anderson pushed the lead to 16, but Walton answered with an 11-0 run in a 16-6 stretch that closed the quarter at 41-38. Both teams traded runs in the fourth, including an 11-5 Anderson burst followed by an 11-2 run from the Bearcats that tied the the game with under 30 seconds.
Anderson’s Ellie Shouse made one of two free throws with the game evened up, which proved enough for the Lady Bearcats to move on to the semifinals.
“Credit to Walton,” Birdwhistell said. “They made it really hard. Rianna does a really good job there. Over the last 20 years we’ve had a lot of good postseason games, so you knew it was going to be like that.”
Walton-Verona finishes the season 18-14. Along with Logue’s 19 points, Ava Hargett added 13 and Addison Vonhandorf contributed 11.
The good news for Walton-Verona is that graduation won’t be a concern this summer, the team doesn’t have a single senior. Their starting lineup features three juniors, including Logue, one sophomore, and freshman point guard Ava Hargett.
“We would have loved to win one or two, of course, but I don’t lose anybody, and we bring back an entire team that was built this year,” Gayheart said. “This gives them the chance to have seen this and hopefully motivates the younger ones who are going to be good down the road. We want to continue building for next year.”
LADY BEARCATS 55, BEARCATS 54
ANDERSON COUNTY — 20-9-12-14 — 55
WALTON-VERONA — 9-10-19-16 — 54
Scoring
Anderson County (55) — Jarrard 16, A. Beasley 15, Rhody 7, Shouse 7, Cooper 6, Wells 4
Walton-Verona (54) — Logue 19, Hargett 13, Vonhandorf 11, Dryden 7, Inman 2, Kendall 2
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Anderson County 10, Walton-Verona 4
Free Throws: Anderson County 9/14, Walton-Verona 10/14
Fouls: Anderson County 12, Walton-Verona 17
Records: Anderson County 22-9, Walton-Verona 18-14