Over the past few decades, Tennessee high school girls basketball has become a fixture on the national scene in terms of national championships and being competitive on the national scale. This year was no different as Riverdale High School (Murfreesboro, TN) held onto the top spot in the USA Today and MaxPreps polls for the entire second half of the season and taking claim as National Champions in both of the polls. In my opinion, the level of play that Riverdale, in addition to Blackman, Bradley Central, Memphis Central and Oakland, have sustained over the years has raised the level of girls basketball throughout the state into what it is today.
The Tennessee State Tournament started last Wednesday and ended on Saturday with South Greene (Single A), Upperman (Double A), and Riverdale (Triple A) all winning state championships. The tournament showcased what Tennessee girls basketball was about with multiple overtime games, some big-time clutch shots, and a few bad calls by the referees.
With that being said, this recap will breakdown what took place in the Single A portion of the Tennessee state tournament noting some highlight games and standouts from the tournament.
Single A
South Greene (Greeneville, TN) - STATE CHAMPIONS
South Greene came into the tournament as the defending state champs. South Greene matched up in the first round with arguably the second best team in the tournament, Pickett County. South Greene followed that up with a win over Summertown on Friday, and defeating Clarkrange on Saturday to win the state championship. The Lady Rebels had impressive play from Taylor Lamb (MVP) who averaged a double-double in the tournament going for 19 points and 10 rebounds in the state championship. Lamb also had a lot of help from the Wykle sisters, Braelyn and Kinsley. The sophomore point guard, Braelyn, did an outstanding job of handling the ball under pressure, while being a stingy defender. Kinsley had her biggest came in the state championship going 5-10 on 3-pointers and finishing with 15 points. The lone senior on the team, Lyndsey Cutshaw, had a gutsy performance as she appeared to play with a stomach virus that took her out of the game on multiple occasions only to see her come back.
Clarkrange (Clarkrange, TN) - STATE RUNNER-UP
Clakrange cruised to two wins in the first round setting up a showdown with South Greene in the championship. Clarkrange came out in the state championship doing exactly what they had done all year, get the ball to 6'4 post, Kara Meadows. The Middle Tennessee State signee went for 28 points in the championship keeping her team in the game. Meadows also had some help from the wing position as Hannah Garrett chipped in with 11 points in the championship and was effective in the first two games as well.
Other notable standouts from the state tournament:
Jenna Brazier - 2021, 5'3 G - Summertown High School (Summertown, TN)
Chynia Brooks - 2018, 5'7 G - Perry County High School (Linden, TN)
Aaliyah Brown - 2019, 5'7 G - Pickett County High School (Byrdstown, TN)
Kaley Campbell - 2021, 5'5 G - Summertown High School (Summertown, TN)
Mary Davis - 2018, 5'9 F - Dresden High School (Dresden, TN)
Madison Dinwiddie - 2017, 5'9 G - Summertown High School (Summertown, TN)
Megan Garland - 2017, 6'1 P - Hampton High School (Hampton, TN)
Jesica Keith - 2017, 6' P - Huntingdon High School (Huntingdon, TN)
Gracie Martin - 2018, 5'6 G - Pickett County High School (Byrdstown, TN)