Lady Waves end Rockwood’s season, 53-38

For the third time in the last 10 days, the Midway Lady Green Waves and the Rockwood Lady Tigers met in a basketball game. The difference in this game was it was a District 3-A Tournament game with the winner moving on while the loser would see their season come to an end.

Brownie Rose

Rockwood’s Chelsea Cheek applies pressure to Midway’s Alisa Barger during Thursday’s game.

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Midway won the first game by 25 at Midway and by nine at Rockwood just this past Monday. The Lady Waves would also take the third meeting, getting a 53-38 victory to move on to the tourney semifinals against Tellico Plains played on Saturday.

Rockwood would see their season end with a 6-19 record following the loss.

Midway head coach Jon Leffew knew the stakes and also knew it would be very hard to beat a team three times in a short period of time. Leffew sweated it out, but his Lady Waves took over in the second quarter and opened up leads as much as 18 in the third quarter before settling for the 15-point win.

The first round win also gives the Lady Waves a berth in the Region 2-A Tournament beginning next week in Harriman. The next two district tournament games will determine the seed for the region tourney.

Both teams started slowly, but Midway got back-to-back steals and lay ups to give them an 11-4 lead at the end of one.

Alisa Barger got the first steal and Abby Bertram the second steal to push the Midway lead to 9-4 at about the midpoint of the quarter. 

Alexis Taylor and Taylor Whitehead scored baskets in the first four minutes of the quarter. Taylor also added a free throw.

Rockwood countered with a basket from McKenzie Lee and two free throws from Carson Evans.

Taylor and Bertram hit single free throws late in the quarter to give Midway the seven-point lead at the end of one.

Barger and Bertram lit the basket up in the second quarter. Barger scored an early hoop, but she had back-to-back three-pointers midway through the second quarter to lengthen Midway’s lead to 16. 

Bertram added three hoops while Whitehead and Jessie Lewis added single baskets late in the quarter to push Midway’s lead to 31-14 by halftime.

Lee tried to keep the Lady Tigers close with a basket and two free throws. Cheyenne Thompson came off the bench to score two baskets while Kelsey Underhile sank two free throws.

Bertram continued to score well with three more hoops in the third quarter. Barger drained another trey while Taylor added a three-point play. 

Lewis also scored on a put back to put Midway in command, 45-27, at the end of the third quarter.

Rockwood had their best scoring quarter in the third, but just couldn't cut into the Midway lead. Lee had two more hoops. Evans added three while Chelsea Cheek, Underhile and Thompson scored a basket each.

Midway had only two scorers in the fourth, but they were enough to help fight off a Rockwood rally that cut the lead to 11 twice in the quarter. 

Whitehead scored two hoops early in the fourth. Bertram scored a basket and she hit two late free throws to push the lead to 15.

Lee led Rockwood’s rally with a basket and three free throws. Shelby Brackett and Evans scored a hoop each. Cheek hit two free throws.

Bertram’s two free throws were scored with less than a minute left when Midway was trying to play keep away with the ball.

Rockwood (38) Lee 15, Evans 7, Thompson 6, Cheek 4, Underhile 4, Brackett 2.

 Midway (53) Bertram 19, Barger 15, Whitehead 8, Taylor 7, Lewis 4.