DEFEATED NETS GOLD

Varsity Lady Braves capture second title in three seasons

JAMES C. HAILE STATE TOURNAMENT CLASS A GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP

Defeated 47, Pine Haven 40  

By Terry Collins, Shea Haile Courier Sports

MURFREESBORO -— The Defeated Lady Braves faced off against Pine Haven out of Jamestown in Fentress County last Saturday afternoon for the Class A James C. Haile State Championship.

Defeated, under the guidance of first year head coach Chris Nixon, brought home the state championship with a 47-40 victory over the Lady Eagles at Middle Tennessee Christian School – who host the annual middle school / elementary school tournaments. 

Defeated led the entire way as Pine Haven cut their lead to two at 40-38 with 1:42 remaining. But the Lady Braves went on a 7-2 run to end the game and conclude their season  with a 21-4 overall record. 

“They played with every thing they had from start to finish,” said Nixon. “Effort with those girls has been there all year.”

Nixon continued, “We started out really hot — in a close game like that one — it is going to go  back-and-forth. You are going to have good runs and you are going to have bad runs. They made a run at us. We held our composure and made some stops on defense then we got some scores. We hit our foul shots when we needed to and put the game away. It was pure effort.”

Sixth grader Caylee West led the Black-and-Gold with 23 points as 14 of those came in the second half. Classmate Clarissa Comstock tossed in a dozen points while Charlee Powell completed the sixth grade trios scoring with five. Mia Phillips Gregory with four and Mattie West with three completed the Defeated scoring. 

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5th / 6th Lady Braves claim back-to-back crowns, cap perfect 26-0 season

JAMES C. HAILE STATE TOURNAMENT CLASS A 5TH-6TH GRADE  GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP

Defeated 45, Rickman 28  

By Terry Collins, Shea Haile Courier Sports

MURFREESBORO -— The Defeated Lady Braves were looking to remain perfect in their final game of the year with a matchup against Rickman in the fifth and sixth grade Class A James C. Haile State Championship.

The two teams tangled on the campus of Middle Tennessee Christian School in Murfreesboro.

The Lady Braves snared the gold ball as they led the entire way in a 45-28 victory over the Lady Bulldogs who finished 14-2. Defeated, under the direction of Wayne Young, finished the season with a perfect 26-0 mark. 

“We have been preparing for this game since last year at this time,” said Young. “My girls were locked in and were ready to play. We struggled a little bit with nerves. You could tell they were nervous a little bit but when they locked in and played — we got up by 20. So they were ready for it. This made us 26-0 and we are one of the best teams around.”

The Lady Braves were impressive in their state tournament run as they won by 40 in the quarterfinals and 20 in the semifinals. 

“We played a decent Pickett County team in the first round,” said Young. “We played one of our better games.”

“Then we played a really good Columbia Academy team. That is probably one of the best teams we have played. We struggled for a while and the whole first half and it was a one point game at halftime. My girls responded to it and in the second half they came out ready to play.”

Caylee West led all scorers with 18 points followed by Clarissa Comstock with 11. Charlee Powell added seven points while Emma Overstreet scored four. Mileigh Silcox with three and Ainsley Washer with two completed the Defeated socre sheet. 

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