NASHVILLE — The much-improved Cascade Lady Champions saw their season come to a close against Pearl Cohn, the No. 2 seed from District 8-AA, on Friday night in the Region 4-AA quarterfinal.
The Lady Firebirds utilized an effective press and created offense off turnovers in the 59-38 win over the Lady Champs.
Pearl jumped out to a hot start, creating several points in transition off Cascade turnovers.
But Cascade was able to draw several early fouls and battle its way to the free throw line.
Sophie Ray netted four points for Cascade and accounted for the only field goal of the first quarter, and knocked down a pair of free throws.
Kaegan Young also drew a handful of fouls and made good on 2-of-4 tries in the opening quarter.
Offense ground to a near halt for both teams in the second quarter, with Pearl Cohn only mustering up nine points.
All three of Cascade’s points in the second quarter came courtesy of the charity stripe.
In the second quarter, Cascade connected on 3-of-6 attempts.
Still, Pearl Cohn led 26-9 at the half.
But Cascade continued to attack the paint and continued to fight its way to the line.
With shots from the floor coming in short supply, the Lady Champs continued to make a dent in the scoreboard from the free throw line.
Ray connected on 4-of-6 tries at the line in the third period, while Suzanna Crews connected on a three-pointer as part of a 12-point run in the third.
But Pearl Cohn’s Erianna Thomas continued to wreak havoc for Cascade and scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the third quarter.
Thomas added six more points in the fourth quarter, but Cascade orchestrated its best offensive quarter of the night in the final frame.
Keeping with the same trend, fouls were whistled left and right in the fourth quarter and as a team, the Lady Champs connected on 11-of-16 free throw attempts in the 17-point fourth.
In total, Cascade connected on 22-of-35 free throw attempts and were led by Young and Ray, who each scored 11 points.
While wins were tough to come by for Cascade this season, the Lady Champs made strides in the first year with head coach Janie Demonbrem and captured third-place in the District 7-AA tournament.
With those improvements made this season, the Lady Champs return the entire roster next year, with no seniors on the team this year.

Cascade 6 3 12 17 — 38
Pearl Cohn 17 9 21 12 — 59

Cascade: Kaegan Young 11, Sophie Ray 11, Avery Villapania 4, Isabella Rhodes 3, Kaydence Miller 3, Suzanna Crews 3, Anna Clanton 2, Laina Carter.
Pearl Cohn: Erianna Thomas 19, Dyna;a Davis 14, Khria Johnson 12, Ayna Batey 10, Madison Woodard 2, Miyah Martin 2.
3-Point goals: Pearl Cohn (5): Johnson 2, Batey 2, Davis; Cascade (2): Rhodes, Crews.
Halftime score: Pearl Cohn 26, Cascade 9.