MURFREESBORO — The Webb Lady Feet controlled the game from the tip to the final buzzer as they dominated the paint in their 55-44 District II-A win on the road against the Middle Tennessee Christian School Lady Cougars. 

“We just did what we do,” Lady Feet head coach Matthew Shewmake said.

“We took the matchups that they gave us and just finished. There were a couple girls in foul trouble, but we settled in and made shots.”

Webb (23-4, 14-0) got off to a hot start early in the first quarter after Angelica Velez knocked down a three-pointer to kickstart an 8-0 over the opening three minutes of the contest. 

Velez’s basket was the lone long ball on the night for the Lady Feet.

The Lady Cougars (20-8, 12-2) stopped the run with a Jailyn Banks three-pointer, and later cut their deficit to five again after Anna-Clay Shirley knocked down three free throws with less than a minute left in the first frame. 

Velez knocked down a midrange jump shot to close out the quarter for a 14-7 Webb advantage. 

Much like in the opening quarter, the Lady Feet opened the second on a 6-0 run over the first two minutes to take a 20-7 lead before Banks hit a layup for MTCS to stop it. 

While Aalyah Del Rosario controlled the paint with seven points in the opening frame for Webb, it was Rhema Collins in the second who exploded for 12 points to jolt the Lady Feet to a 32-18 halftime lead. 

Collins scored a team-high 18 points on the night with Del Rosario close behind with 14. 

“They use their size, strength and their skill to their advantage,” Shewmake said. “They battle through contact and have been doing that for the two years they’ve been here. It’s unbelievable how resilient they are and continue to battle every night.”

The Lady Feet continued their trend of opening quarters on a scoring run by taking a 40-21 lead with a 8-3 run over the first three minutes, but the Lady Cougars didn’t stop fighting. 

MTCS scored 13 points over the final four and a half minutes of the third frame and held Webb to only four over that same span to cut their deficit to 10 heading into the final frame. 

Banks accounted for eight of the Lady Cougar’s 16 points in the quarter. 

Webb held their double-digit lead up until the six minute and 10 second mark when Ashley Rucker hit a layup for MTCS to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since early in the second quarter. 

Eight points was the closest the Lady Cougars cut it to for the rest of the game as the Lady Feet utilized their matchups in the paint with Del Rosario and Collins to close out the road win. 

Those matchups came in handy throughout the contest as Webb couldn’t find their range from deep like they’re accustomed to. 

“We kept shooting it, and I just kept thinking they were going in because they usually do,” Shewmake said. “We normally shoot close to 35%, but they weren’t going down tonight. Fortunately, we weren’t just throwing it up, and they worked it inside for some easy twos. We have a McDonald’s All-American in the middle, and another that should be up for Miss Basketball at the four, so they had a hard matchup with that.”

The Lady Feet sit atop of D-II A Middle District 3 and remain idle as they wait for their opponent in the district semifinal game that is set to take place on Friday, February 23 at Columbia Academy. 

Webb 14 18 12 11 — 55 

MTCS 7 11 16 10 — 44 

Webb: Rhema Collins 18, Angelica Velez 15, Aalyah Del Rosario 14, Bree Robinson 4, Arora Almon-Sanchez 2, Tatianna Stovall 2. 

MTCS: Jailyn Banks 20, Anna-Clay Shirley 9, Riley Smith 7, Autumn Davis 4, Ashley Rucker 3, Lindsey Wisniowski 1.

3-point goals: Webb (1): Velez.; MTCS (3): Shirley 2, Banks.

Halftime score: Webb 32, MTCS 18.