The Cascade bench reacts to a play during the Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic. Cascade went 2-1 in the tournament before falling in the championship game in overtime to North Greene. (Submitted Photo)
STAFF REPORT
GATLINBURG — Christmas season means one thing as far as high school sports are concerned and that is holiday tournaments.
Over the weekend, the Cascade Lady Champions took part in the Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic and battled their way to the tournament championship game before falling 69-59 in over time to North Greene.
In the championship, North Greene jumped out to a seven-point lead after the first period.
The Huskies, who sit with an impressive 11-1 record following the tournament championship, relied on effective perimeter shooting to spearhead the early offensive charge and connected on four treys in the opening quarter.
But Cascade wasn’t without its heavy hitters.
Lizzie Keele and Caroline Parker each hit a 3-pointer in the opening period and Jocelyn Laughlin made her way to the line where she connected on 3-of-4 attempts in the first quarter.
Still, Cascade trailed 20-13 after the first.
Although North Greene was able to protect its lead and build a 12-point advantage by halftime, Cascade hung around just within striking distance to make things interesting in the second half.
The depth on the roster made its impact for Cascade in the third with four Lady Champions finding their way in the scoring column and although Parker and Kaegan Young had delivered in moments throughout the first half, it was Lizzie Keele who came through in the third, scoring seven of her total 17 points.
While the offense continued to consistently chip into the North Greene lead, defensively, the Lady Champions held the Lady Huskies to just two made field goals in the period as Cascade went on a 14-7 run through the quarter.
The Lady Champions eventually completed the comeback to force overtime, outscoring North Greene 15-14 in the fourth quarter to leave the game deadlocked at 55.
In the fourth, though, North Greene was able to effectively get to the free throw line and hit a perfect 7-of-7 attempts at the charity stripe.
Cascade on the other hand got big minutes from Laughlin, who banked 10 points, including a pair of threes to force the overtime period.
Although Cascade’s comeback forced overtime against one of the top Class 1A teams in the state, the fouls eventually caught up to the Lady Champs.
North Greene continued its ability to get to the line and cash in on the free throw attempts into the overtime period, making good on 7-of-7 tries, while Cascade was held to just four points, including a lone field goal from Laughlin.
Laughlin finished the championship game with a team-best 19 points, while Keele also turned in a banner performance, totaling 17 points.
Young also hit double figures with 12.
As a team, the Lady Champs connected on nine treys and shot 10-of-14 free throw tries, in contrast to North Greene’s 19-of-23 night shooting at the charity stripe.
The tournament, which featured teams from all over the southeast, consisted of 39 schools, ranging from Tennessee, to Florida, Ohio and Alabama.
As part of their run to the championship game, Cascade picked up earlier tournament wins, beating Ridgeview (Va.) 56-38 and Johnson Central (Ky.) 69-53.
Cascade returns to more familiar opposition on Saturday, hosting Moore County at 2 p.m.
Cascade 13 13 14 15 4 — 59
N. Greene 20 14 7 14 14 — 69
Cascade: Jocelyn Laughlin 19, Lizzie Keele 17, Kaegan Young 12, Caroline Parker 8, Lexi Comstock 3.
3-Point goals: Cascade (9): Keele 2, Parker 2, Young 2, Laughlin 2, Comstock.
Halftime score: N. Greene 34, Cascade 26.