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MURFREESBORO — One would have thought Aleyah Smyth and Chloe Heath had already gotten their fill of hugs.
Smyth, Heath and the rest of the Heritage girls basketball team dashed toward each other, colliding in an explosion of joy and pent-up emotions upon the final buzzer of Thursday's Class 3A semifinal. The Mountaineers (34-2) had just sealed a 36-29 win over South Gibson, advancing to their first-ever TSSAA girls basketball state tournament championship game.
But Smyth, Heath and coach Rick Howard had quieter embraces to give. As they left the Murphy Center court through a side tunnel on their way to the postgame news conference, they stopped, one-by-one, to put their arms around Carsyn Swaney. The senior guard had been sitting on a treatment table there since leaving the game with an injury in the fourth quarter.
Later, Howard as much as confirmed what Swaney's earlier cries of pain implied. Heritage will be without Swaney, a Miss Basketball finalist who has signed with Middle Tennessee State, for the title game at 4 p.m. Saturday against Northview Academy.
The Mountaineers will play that game for her. They won Friday's game for her, too.
"All she wanted to do was play for a state championship," Howard said. "She'll play on this floor again. That's not the big deal. The big deal is she's not going to be out there with her sisters, and they have such a close chemistry and team and sisterhood. She'll be missed so much."
When Howard makes his players run during practice, he tells them to be happy about it, because one day, one moment even, they won't be able to run. That moment can happen in the blink of an eye. On Friday, those words proved painfully prophetic.
With 6:54 remaining, Swaney collided with another player on a fast break and immediately crumpled to the hardwood, clutching her left ankle. Two Heritage coaches carried her off the floor. After the game, she was loaded onto a stretcher bound for the hospital. Howard said he fears her ankle is broken.
"It was very heartbreaking," Heath said. "We all love Carsyn. She's our best friend on the team, she's one of the captains and she's a great leader."
But the Mountaineers had to switch gears quickly. A 12-2 South Gibson run had cut their lead to three points and they'd gone more than four minutes without scoring. The Yellow Jackets (29-9) were in a matchup zone, and both of Heritage's two losses this season came to Sevier County, which played the same defense. Now the Mountaineers needed to overcome their Achilles' heel without their top scorer and ball handler.
Heritage didn't hit another field goal, but Smyth, Heath and Faith Morris went 8-of-10 from the free throw line down the stretch. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers' defense held South Gibson to just four more points, two coming in the final seconds.
"They dug down," Howard said. "We just didn't let them have any open shots and contested everything inside."
MORE: How Abigail Netherton's last-second shot made TSSAA girls basketball history for Van Buren
MORE: TSSAA girls basketball state tournament brackets, schedule, scores for 2025 championships
In Swaney's absence, Howard will call upon everyone else to give just a little bit more. He'll look for that from Smyth. From Morris. From Heath, a Carson-Newman signee whose mother Misti played on the 1996-97 Mountaineers team that won the program's most recent state tournament game before Thursday. Chloe Heath has heard plenty of her mother's state tournament memories, and they often go back-and-forth on who's the better player. Howard, who's coached both, thinks it's Chloe, and Saturday will give her a chance to earn the biggest trump card of all.
"It's gonna be hard to fill in for (Carsyn)," Howard said. "But I have confidence in these young ladies, and I think they're gonna give me all I can ask of them. ... Play their hearts out, and walk off that floor knowing that they played hard for Carsyn and our program."
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at [email protected] and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Heritage fights adversity to reach TSSAA girls basketball state final
Continue reading...
Smyth, Heath and the rest of the Heritage girls basketball team dashed toward each other, colliding in an explosion of joy and pent-up emotions upon the final buzzer of Thursday's Class 3A semifinal. The Mountaineers (34-2) had just sealed a 36-29 win over South Gibson, advancing to their first-ever TSSAA girls basketball state tournament championship game.
But Smyth, Heath and coach Rick Howard had quieter embraces to give. As they left the Murphy Center court through a side tunnel on their way to the postgame news conference, they stopped, one-by-one, to put their arms around Carsyn Swaney. The senior guard had been sitting on a treatment table there since leaving the game with an injury in the fourth quarter.
Later, Howard as much as confirmed what Swaney's earlier cries of pain implied. Heritage will be without Swaney, a Miss Basketball finalist who has signed with Middle Tennessee State, for the title game at 4 p.m. Saturday against Northview Academy.
The Mountaineers will play that game for her. They won Friday's game for her, too.
"All she wanted to do was play for a state championship," Howard said. "She'll play on this floor again. That's not the big deal. The big deal is she's not going to be out there with her sisters, and they have such a close chemistry and team and sisterhood. She'll be missed so much."
When Howard makes his players run during practice, he tells them to be happy about it, because one day, one moment even, they won't be able to run. That moment can happen in the blink of an eye. On Friday, those words proved painfully prophetic.
With 6:54 remaining, Swaney collided with another player on a fast break and immediately crumpled to the hardwood, clutching her left ankle. Two Heritage coaches carried her off the floor. After the game, she was loaded onto a stretcher bound for the hospital. Howard said he fears her ankle is broken.
"It was very heartbreaking," Heath said. "We all love Carsyn. She's our best friend on the team, she's one of the captains and she's a great leader."
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But the Mountaineers had to switch gears quickly. A 12-2 South Gibson run had cut their lead to three points and they'd gone more than four minutes without scoring. The Yellow Jackets (29-9) were in a matchup zone, and both of Heritage's two losses this season came to Sevier County, which played the same defense. Now the Mountaineers needed to overcome their Achilles' heel without their top scorer and ball handler.
Heritage didn't hit another field goal, but Smyth, Heath and Faith Morris went 8-of-10 from the free throw line down the stretch. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers' defense held South Gibson to just four more points, two coming in the final seconds.
"They dug down," Howard said. "We just didn't let them have any open shots and contested everything inside."
MORE: How Abigail Netherton's last-second shot made TSSAA girls basketball history for Van Buren
MORE: TSSAA girls basketball state tournament brackets, schedule, scores for 2025 championships
In Swaney's absence, Howard will call upon everyone else to give just a little bit more. He'll look for that from Smyth. From Morris. From Heath, a Carson-Newman signee whose mother Misti played on the 1996-97 Mountaineers team that won the program's most recent state tournament game before Thursday. Chloe Heath has heard plenty of her mother's state tournament memories, and they often go back-and-forth on who's the better player. Howard, who's coached both, thinks it's Chloe, and Saturday will give her a chance to earn the biggest trump card of all.
"It's gonna be hard to fill in for (Carsyn)," Howard said. "But I have confidence in these young ladies, and I think they're gonna give me all I can ask of them. ... Play their hearts out, and walk off that floor knowing that they played hard for Carsyn and our program."
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at [email protected] and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Heritage fights adversity to reach TSSAA girls basketball state final
Continue reading...
