From Day 1 of her time with the Lady Champions, head coach Kendall Hampton knew her team was capable of competing with just about anyone.

While the start to the 2020-2021 season was anything but normal with COVID restrictions, missing players and having shutdowns, there was never a doubt her team could match up against anyone.

After nearly two long months of showcasing growth within the program, the Lady Champs (1-7, 1-1) recorded their first win of the season on Tuesday night, knocking off Cornersville 70-59 for not only the first win of the season, but the first 8-A win of the season as well.

"We've been grinding from Day 1. To be able to have our whole team back and have that whole team back, it changes the tempo back. I think that's really taken us to that next level of where I know we can be. It was me believing it before and now they're buying in and they're believing it. That's the difference in where we were a month ago," Hampton said.

At multiple points in the second half, Cascade trailed Cornersville (0-9, 0-2), but never abandoned the game plan and made the key shots when they mattered most.

During the second quarter, Cascade was closing the gap on a 10-point Lady Bulldog lead.

On a three-point shot attempt, Cornersville's Meri Hannah Walker was fouled and connected on the shot, setting up a four-point play.

Cornersville flipped the game's momentum, as Cascade had a chance to pull within one possession before the play.

Instead, the Lady Bulldogs went on to stretch the lead to 11 points in the quarter.

But instead of folding, Cascade stuck with its game plan and over the following 2:31 left in the half, went on an 8-2 run, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers by freshman Abrielle Presley to pull within one point with 13 seconds left.

Cornersville answered with a shot at the buzzer to hold a 32-29 lead at the half.

Early in the third, Cornersville again took advantage of a lull in Lady Champ scoring and seemed to pull away with some effective perimeter shooting, but again, Cascade worked the inside-out game with Jordan Green finding her footing in the paint.

"To relieve that pressure on our guards who can shoot the ball, we have to have an inside presence. Jordan has been working so hard lately and has really hit a stride where she can score inside. Once that happens, they have to come defend it and that opens up our outside game," Hampton said.

Green connected on a short jumper to tie the game at 52 apiece early in the fourth quarter and on the following Cascade possession, Lani Jones drilled a corner three to give Cascade a lead the Lady Champs never surrendered.

"We can shoot the ball. We've seen it off and on throughout the season. We've had games where we've had a lot of threes and we've had games when we haven't had any. We're finally starting to see some consistency," Hampton said.

Consistency was the name of the game from the perimeter, Presley and senior Maddie Crosslin each hit three triples.

That outside game complemented Green's inside attack, as she led the winners with 16 points.

Presley and Jones also hit double figures with 15 and 14, respectively.

Cornersville's Merri Hannah Walker scored 19 to pace the Lady Bulldogs.

For Cascade, Hamton says the added emphasis on effort plays and working on the little things paid big dividends in the team's first win of the season.

"We have really pushed on things that require effort and not skill-rebounding and boxing out every single time. I think that really showed tonight. Tonight, I don't know they (Cornersville) got many offensive rebounds. I think that's attributed to the work we put in to control things in the effort category," she said.

The game was never fully out of reach, though.

In the final two minutes, Cascade's lead dwindled to four points.

Cornersville was never able to make it a one possession game, which forced the Lady Bulldogs to foul in order to stop the clock.

As such, Cascade made the most of its tries at the line in the stretch.

The team made 9-of-10 tries in the final two minutes from the foul line, which was instrumental in securing the win.

That never-quit attitude, coupled with the ability to execute in the clutch with the game on the line showcases the growth the team is making and just what the team is capable of, according to Hampton.

"We've had to come from behind a lot. They just didn't let up. They didn't quit tonight. We've put a good half together, a good quarter together, finished strong but didn't start well. Saturday, we put a full game together, but it didn't go our way. Tonight, I think is just the next step," she said.

Cascade returns to its home court on Friday, hosting another District 8-A contest against Eagleville at 6 p.m.

Cornersville 16 16 20 7 - 59

Cascade 10 19 21 20 - 70

Cornersville: Merri Hanah Walker 19, Alicia Polk 15, Gracie Turner 12, Anna Wood 7, Jayli Childress 3, Annabele Molliniks 3.

Cascade: Jordan Green 16, Abrielle Presley 15, Lani Jones 14, Caroline Stone 9, Maddie Crosslin 9, Kylie Calvert 7.

3-Point goals: Cornersville (10): Walker 4, Polk 3, Molliniks, Childress, Wood; Cascade (7): Presley 3, Crosslin 3, Jones.

Halftime score: Cornersville 32, Cascade 29.