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The Crossville Lady Lions basketball team was welcomed back to the school with a celebration on Friday after winning the Class 3A state high school basketball championship Thursday night in Birmingham.

Crossville basks in glow of state title

By Lew Gilliland
The Times-Journal

Published February 29, 2008

Crossville’s celebration continued Friday.

The town planned a parade for its conquering heroes early in the afternoon, marking their return home for a memorable week in Birmingham.

Crossville defeated No. 7-ranked Geneva 55-52 in the Class 3A girls high school basketball state championship game Thursday night at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex, and the Lady Lions were still basking in the glow of the first state title in team history at lunchtime Friday.

Don’t look for that glow to fade anytime soon.

“We’re just excited,” Crossville coach Jon Peppers said. “It’s the culmination of all the hard work and all the dreams the girls have had all year long. For eight seniors, it was their last game, but there wasn’t a tear of sadness in the room; it was all joy. As a player, that’s the way you want to go out.”

Crossville became the first DeKalb County team to win a state basketball championship since Fyffe’s girls did it in 2000, and the title was the first for Crossville High School since the football team won the 3A crown in 1986.

The Final Four appearance was also Crossville’s first since 1990.

Like most teams, the Lady Lions had to deal with adversity. The squad endured a four-game losing streak in December, and Crossville entered the Final Four with more losses than any team in the 3A field, but Peppers knew before the season there might be some rough spots ahead.

Still, he never lost confidence that what became a reality Thursday night was possible. He said what the team needed was time to jell.

“I knew we had the players to do it,” he said. “Courtney Thacker and Ashley Bright had been starters — it was their third year — [but] you had Felicity Adkins, Emily Peek and Molly Williamson that were starting for the first time. We just had to get familiar with each other.

“I said at the beginning of the year I didn’t care what our record was as long as we were playing our best ball of the year come area tournament time, and that’s what happened.”

What unfolded in the postseason was a stretch of six straight victories on the road to the state championship. The victims, in order, were local rivals Pisgah and Geraldine in the Area 13 Tournament, Hokes Bluff and Glencoe at the Northeast Regional Tournament and Aliceville and Geneva at state.

While many factors played a role in the championship, team unity was certainly near the top of the list.

“It’s just a good group of girls,” Peppers said. “They love being around each other. Staying here in Birmingham for five days … a lot of times girls get to the point where they don’t want to be around each other, but these girls love each other. It’s been a special week. The got their mind focused on what they had to do and did a great job of accomplishing it.”

NEXT YEAR: It didn’t take Peppers long to begin thinking about 2008-09. By the time Crossville returned to its locker room following the championship game, Peppers was already pondering what was ahead.

“We’ve got a good nucleus coming back and a good group of [junior varsity] and junior high players,” he said. “Winning this thing is a good way to motivate the players in the offseason. I’m looking forward to getting started right now.”

BIG SHOT: Peppers marveled at the 3-pointer Final Four MVP Thacker made to tie the championship game at 51-all with 1:33 remaining. Thacker, who made the game-winning layup with two seconds left in a state semifinal victory over Aliceville, sank the 3 from the left corner.

“I don’t know how she did it with the girl … in her face, but she got the ball off from the corner and tied the ballgame,” he said. “Thacker has been a go-to player. She’s worked hard to get to this point. I’m excited … that there’s going to be someone out there who will give her a chance at the next level.”

GIANT INSPIRATION: Peppers said his unranked team drew inspiration from the Super Bowl champion New York Giants as it prepared to meet Geneva.

“The way we looked at the game, we were the New York Giants and they were the New England Patriots,” he said. “Nobody expected us to win the game. We came down here unranked.”

EVERYBODY COUNTS: Thacker talked about the importance of team after the championship game. She also touched on the squad’s confidence level after the 60-59 win over Aliceville in the state semifinal.

“I can definitely say that we have 14 teammates, and it’s not a one-man show,” she said. “We all have so much heart. After that first game, we knew it didn’t matter if we got down. We just have so many players that step up.”

REBOUNDS: Had Crossville fallen short against Geneva, rebounding would have been the biggest reason why.

The Lady Panthers out-rebounded the Lady Lions 47-38 and had a 25-12 advantage in offensive boards. Offensive rebounding was a big reason Geneva was able to build a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter before Crossville rallied.

“We went in at halftime, and that’s all we were talking about,” Final Four all-tournament pick Emily Peek said. “They had scored so many points [off rebounds]. We just weren’t doing a good job. It was frustrating.”

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