Kaylah Keys seemed poised to leave one last memory in the Harding gym
where her jersey will no doubt hang one day. But after Keys and the
Lions all but erased a 17-point deficit midway through the fourth
quarter, University School of Nashville regained its poise, and the
momentum, in time to score a 62-49 upset in the Division 2-A substate
round Friday night.
Keys ended her final game with 25 points, including 10 in an 18-4 run that helped Harding (24-6) close a 39-22 deficit to 43-40 with 5:56 to play on a midcourt steal and driving layup by the High Point University-bound guard.
“We got over our nerves a little, and started to really put some pressure on them, but we couldn’t keep it going long enough,” Keys said.
The Tigers (20-13) answered as they did all night, getting a 3-pointer from senior Mia Phillips after a timeout. That 3-pointer was the seventh of eight in the game from a team that had averaged just three a game this season. It started a 9-0 run and the Lions never got closer than nine after that.
Phillips had 18 points, including three 3-pointers. Sarah Elliott added 17 and hit 4 of 4 from beyond the arc in the first half to pace USN to a 31-14 lead at the break.
Senior Bailey Conner added 11 points, and passed 1,000 points for her career with 3:16 to play. Jemice Holmes added nine.
“We’ve often hurt ourselves with bad decisions down the stretch, and while we have good shooters we have been inconsistent much of the year,” University School coach Dee Davis said after her team clinched its first trip to the state tournament next week in Nashville.
“Tonight, we put it all together early.”
Junior Morgan Murphy added eight points for Harding, which has been stopped the past two years in the substate round.
The Lions hurt themselves at the foul line, going 8 of 18.
USN was 13 of 23 but hit seven of their first eight shots while building the early lead.
Keys ended her final game with 25 points, including 10 in an 18-4 run that helped Harding (24-6) close a 39-22 deficit to 43-40 with 5:56 to play on a midcourt steal and driving layup by the High Point University-bound guard.
“We got over our nerves a little, and started to really put some pressure on them, but we couldn’t keep it going long enough,” Keys said.
The Tigers (20-13) answered as they did all night, getting a 3-pointer from senior Mia Phillips after a timeout. That 3-pointer was the seventh of eight in the game from a team that had averaged just three a game this season. It started a 9-0 run and the Lions never got closer than nine after that.
Phillips had 18 points, including three 3-pointers. Sarah Elliott added 17 and hit 4 of 4 from beyond the arc in the first half to pace USN to a 31-14 lead at the break.
Senior Bailey Conner added 11 points, and passed 1,000 points for her career with 3:16 to play. Jemice Holmes added nine.
“We’ve often hurt ourselves with bad decisions down the stretch, and while we have good shooters we have been inconsistent much of the year,” University School coach Dee Davis said after her team clinched its first trip to the state tournament next week in Nashville.
“Tonight, we put it all together early.”
Junior Morgan Murphy added eight points for Harding, which has been stopped the past two years in the substate round.
The Lions hurt themselves at the foul line, going 8 of 18.
USN was 13 of 23 but hit seven of their first eight shots while building the early lead.
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