Overton girls earn 4th straight trip to state tournament

article from CommercialAppeal.com

Overton, behind its customary balanced scoring and solid defense, knocked out Bartlett, 63-36, in a Class AAA girls basketball sectional game Saturday night at Overton.

An overflow crowd at Overton witnessed the Lady Wolverines (27-2), assume what coach Lynn Smith deemed the “businesslike approach” against the Lady Panthers (20-12) and earn their fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament that begins in Murfreesboro on Wednesday.



The Lady Wolverines wasted little time dictating the pace of the contest, holding Bartlett without a field goal during the opening 7:06 and racing to a 14-4 lead. And with combo guard Cornelia Fondren, a Syracuse signee, playing mostly point guard as a way of getting other players in an offensive rhythm, Overton had seven players score by halftime and led 28-17.

“That’s what I normally do,” Fondren said. “I looked for my teammates because I was playing with three fouls. We’re going to handle our business (in Murfreesboro). We’ve just got to stay level-headed. This is my last year, so we’ve got to get it done.”

By the end of the third quarter, Overton’s lead had ballooned to 45-23, thanks in part to a 10-0 run.

Fondren finished with a game-high 23 points and eight assists and Philecia Atkins had 12 points for the Lady Wolverines. Destiny James led Bartlett with 18 points and Shondria Scruggs added 10 for the Lady Panthers, who were back in the sectional round for the first time since 2009.