There was a small span in the second quarter, which was the only quarter they out-scored us, where we gave them four-straight offensive rebounds. After that, we really just went after it and I think that was the difference in the game.”

Lady Champion coach Kendall Hampton

UNIONVILLE — Simply put, the wins just haven’t been there for the Cascade Lady Champions this year.
For coach Kendall Hampton, finding the right combination on the floor has been a task among various injuries and sickness up and down the roster throughout the year.
But at the most important time of the season, a perfect storm swirled in the District 7-AA consolation round and the Lady Champions (4-22) put forth their best effort of the season, which allowed Cascade to knock off Grundy County (8-17) to wrap up third-place.
In two prior meetings this season, Grundy County utilized its hot-shooting of point guard Carlee Smartt and the Lady Yellow Jackets claimed double-digit wins over Cascade.
During Friday night’s battle for third-place, Hampton tasked freshman Sophie Ray with locking down the Grundy County sharpshooter—and she did just that.
“Sophie was a defensive MVP. If you give her an assignment and that kid works harder than anyone I’ve ever coached. We held her (Smartt) to three field goals. The last few times we played them, she’s been their leading scorer,” Hampton said.
Cascade went to work early and got a balanced attack from senior Jordan Green, freshman Kaydence Miller and Ray to open up a 6-0 lead until Smartt drilled a 3-pointer with 3:15 left in the opening frame.
But after Smartt’s made triple, it was Green who took over for the Lady Champs and scored the Lady Champs’ final six points of the quarter to push the lead out to 12-5 by the end of the frame.
Grundy County eventually started seeing shots falling to open the second quarter and after being fouled and sent to the line with 5:19 left, Smartt missed the front end of a pair of free throws, but connected on the second, to cut Cascade’s lead to one point.
Miller answered the score by Smartt with her first of three 3-pointers with 4:11 left in the half.
The two teams continued to battle and once again, it was Smartt at the free throw line who cut Cascade’s lead to one point after a pair of makes.
“There was a small span in the second quarter, which was the only quarter they out-scored us, where we gave them four-straight offensive rebounds. After that, we really just went after it and I think that was the difference in the game,” Hampton said.
Cascade opened the second half with a stop when Green forced a turnover and got the ball to senior Lani Jones, who drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Lady Champs up by four.
While Green was the work horse for the Lady Champs through most of the game, it was fellow senior Caroline Stone who did the lion’s share of work off the block in the third frame.
She rattled off five-straight points and after she missed the back-end of a free throw attempt, got her own rebound and found Miller on the wing for another 3-pointer to stretch the Cascade lead to 10 points with 4:47 remaining in the third.
Cascade went on to stretch the lead to 15 points following a basket off the block by Stone with 3:19, but Grundy found an answer with 10-straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Smartt and Jaidys McDaniel.
Cascade, in the meantime, was scoreless from the floor for over three minutes until Makenna Lamb drilled a trey with 13 seconds left to push the lead back to nine points at the end of the quarter.
The Lady Champions continued to work the glass and maintained a 9-10 point lead through much of the fourth quarter.
“We really have struggled with boards as of late. We spent a lot of time this week focusing on that,” Hampton said.
But Grundy County wouldn’t go quietly and proved just how effective the Lady Yellow Jacket could be in short spurts.
With Smartt effectively shut down on the offensive end of the court, it was Grundy County’s Abigail Childers who rattled loose for 11 points in the final quarter, including three 3-pointers.
Grundy County was also effective at drawing fouls and stopping the clock.
Following a Cascade miss on a one-and-one attempt with 1:49 to go, Childers hauled in the rebound and drew the foul where she was able to knock down the front-end of her one-and-one attempt.
That scenario repeated itself on the next two possessions and Childers brought the Lady Yellow Jackets within five on a 3-pointer with 1:15 left.
She followed with another triple to pull within two points with 50 seconds left.
With time dwindling, Grundy County was forced to foul to stop the clock and within the final 50 seconds, it was the battle-tested Lady Champion seniors that delivered in the clutch to secure the win.
In the final minute, Cascade combined for an 8-of-10 effort at the free throw line from its seniors on the floor.
“We really just have to start playing smarter there. I feel like they (Grundy County) are a team that plays like they have nothing to lose. When it gets close at the end, they’re going to throw some shots up and a lot of times they’re going in. We just have to maintain that composure. We’ve got girls on the floor that I know are going to hit foul shots and handle the ball. I think I had four seniors out there—that’s what you want from your seniors,” Hampton said.
As a team, Cascade went 11-of-18 in the fourth quarter from the free throw line, but saw Green close her season-high effort with a monster quarter.
She finished with 20 points, including nine more points, which led the Lady Champs.
“I knew she (Green) would have the opportunity in this game to step up and be hard for them to defend. We’ve been waiting on her to find that confidence to know she’s capable of that and she did it this game. I hope this carries over into the region,” Hampton said.
It wasn’t just the efforts of Green that landed the Lady Champions the victory.
Freshman Kaydence Miller pitched in 11 points, while Jones also added 11.
As a team, Cascade shot it well from the perimeter, with Miller knocking down three to lead the way.
While District 7-AA sports just four teams, the win keeps Cascade away from the No. 1 seed from District 8-AA during the Region 4-AA quarterfinals on Friday night.
Cascade will face the No. 2 seed in the Region 4-AA quarterfinals on the road on Friday evening at 7 p.m.

Cascade 12 11 21 22 — 66
Grundy Co. 5 17 13 20 — 55

Cascade: Jordan Green 20, Lani Jones 11, Kaydence Miller 11, Caroline Stone 8, Makenna Lamb 7, Sophie Ray 6, Abrielle Presley 3.
Grundy Co.: Abigail Childers 21, Carlee Smartt 12, Jaidys McDaniel 10, Charslie Campbell 4, Wrylee McDaniel 4, Katherine Lusk 2, Kaylee Smartt 2.
3-Point goals: Cascade (7): Miller 3, Jones, Green, Presley; Grundy Co. (7): Childers 3, J. McDaniel 2, C. Smartt.
Halftime score: Cascade 23, Grundy Co 22.