Bradley Central girls coach Jason Reuter nervously paced the sideline in front of the Bearettes' bench as the team warmed up in preparation for Saturday's TSSAA sub-state clash with Lawrence County.

And with good reason.

The Bearettes were without the steady play of senior wing Caroline Smith who was not dressed out on the bench and was unable to play. The District 5-AAA Player of the Year and Lee University signee averaged 12.3 points per game but suffered a concussion in the Region 3-AAA title game in Crossville Thursday night and was not suited up Saturday night.

The Bearettes (32-2) battled to the final buzzer without Smith and had a final chance to make the state tournament. But, a blocked shot at the buzzer gave Lawrence County the one-point 44-43 win.

"It's disappointing. We had our moments where I thought we struggled without one of our starters being with us. With that said, I think we had a chance with the four-point lead in overtime. It comes down to one point," said Jason Reuter, who in his second year as Bearettes' coach has led the Bradley girls to a 59-8 record.

The Bradley girls knew they had a monumental task in front of them before making reservations in Murfreesboro for the girls state basketball tournament.

Turnovers led to the first two points for both teams and another Bearette turnover led to a Lady Wildcats lead.

Brooke Copeland tied it at 4-4 and Rebecca Reuter put Bradley Central in the lead with 3:43 left in the first quarter. As shots continued to miss the mark, the Lady 'Cats managed to scratch out an 8-7 lead to end the first period.

Poor shot selection continued as quarter No. 2 got under way. Rebecca Reuter put the Bearettes back out front with a layup as the Bearettes struggled to find offensive rhythm. With 2:33 left in the half, Lawrence County took a 15-11 lead on the first 3-pointer of the game. A buzzer beater put the Lady 'Cats out front 17-12 at halftime.

Bradley Central's 12 points amounted to the lowest first-half points total of the season for the No. 4-ranked Bearettes.

Bradley Central shot only 21 percent from the floor in the first half. The Bearettes finished the night hitting 17-of-45 tries.

The Bearettes opened the second half with two free throws by Copeland to make it 17-14. Although Lawrence County held a 3-point lead early, a calmer, more selective Bearettes team pulled within one point with just over five minutes left in the quarter.

Lee signee Kayla Beavers again brought the Bearettes within a single point, 24-23, with Bradley's first trey of the night with 3:35 on the clock. Copeland brought the Bearettes' crowd to its feet with a basket to put Bradley Central out front, 25-24, with 1:03 to go. But, the lead was short lived as Lawrence County worked the final seconds to perfection to score again at the buzzer and slip to a 25-24 lead.

Copeland ended her night with 13 points to lead the Bearettes. Reuter finished with 12 and Beavers scored 11 for Bradley.

Beavers opened the final eight minutes of the back-and-forth affair with her second 3 of the night, giving the Bearettes a two-point lead. The teams battled to a deadlock four times in the final period. Then, with 2:32 left to decide who goes to Murfreesboro, Emily McCracken, wearing No. 20 in honor of Smith, gave Bradley a 36-34 lead.

The Bearettes were unable to convert a Lady Wildcat turnover and gave the ball back to the visitors with 1:37 left in the game. The give-back set up a clock-killing session by the Lady Wildcats who tied the game for the fifth time in the quarter at 36-all with 26 seconds left in regulation.

A costly turnover by Bradley Central put the ball back in the hands of Lawrence County with seven ticks on the scoreboard and the Lady Wildcats called timeout after a Bradley Central foul. The Bearettes countered with a timeout to form their own plan of action. Lawrence County inbounded the ball and drove to the basket, missing the last-second shot to send the game into overtime.

Lawrence County opened OT from the foul line and took a 37-36 lead after making 1-of-2 tosses. It was Beavers once again coming through behind the 3-point line on the Bearettes' next possession. The trey gave Bradley a 39-37 lead with 3:14 left.

After the Lady Wildcats failed to convert on their next possession, the Bearettes got a bit more breathing room on an easy basket by an unguarded Copeland on the inbounds play. Lawrence County responded with a 3-pointer and, after a Bradley miss and foul, took a 42-41 lead with 53 seconds left in overtime.

With 43 seconds to go, the Bearettes called timeout for some last-second strategy. A whistle with 32 ticks left put the Bearettes on the line with a chance to take the lead yet again. A miss and Lawrence County rebound led to a foul call on Bradley Central. Emily Williams stepped to the line with 26 seconds to go and put the Lady Wildcats ahead 44-41.

With time running out, the Bearettes brought the ball down court. A missed 3-point try led to a Copeland rebound and the sophomore cut the lead to 44-43 with the putback with 5.7 seconds left in the Bearettes' season. Bradley was forced to foul on the inbounds play sending Lawrence County to the line. Two shots later, the Lady Wildcats held onto the one-point lead after the shots missed. Bradley Central grabbed the rebound and raced down court with the seconds ticking away. A last-ditch attempt by Reuter was blocked at the buzzer, giving Lawrence County the win.

"We shot a little too quick. We had a lead and we shot a 3 we shouldn't have. They came down and scored. It was like a chess match. It turned into a half-court game. We zoned them and they didn't want to be zoned," said a disappointed and exhausted coach Reuter.

"These kids have spilled their guts for me all year long. I think the basketball gods dealt us a pretty tough fate in losing Caroline in the region finals, but I thought when we went up we were going to win the game. I thought that was enough, but we couldn't pull it out."

Bradley Central won on the boards outrebounding Lawrence County 31-27. The Lady Wildcats had 14 turnovers to Bradley's 13.

The loss broke a 27-game winning streak by the Bearettes. Bradley's only other loss came at the hands of Girls Preparatory School — who won the Division II state championship Saturday — on Nov. 27 by a score of 53-33. Since then, the Bearettes ripped off 27 straight, highlighted with an 82-42 annihilation of Cumberland County to win the region title. Bradley Central carried a five-game streak before the loss to GPS.

Lawrence County heads into the state tournament with a 26-7 record with three losses coming to top-ranked Riverdale, two from ninth-ranked Blackman and one each at the hands of No. 3 Clarksville and North Gwinnett, ranked fourth in Georgia Class AAAAAA.

The Lady Wildcats' boasted winning streaks of seven, eight and eight consecutive games during the season leading to a 59-31 defeat at the hands of Riverdale in the Region 4-AAA tournament championship game.

The Bearettes largest margin of victory — 68 points — came against Rhea County with a 90-22 win, Jan 10. The Bradley girls' lowest points total came against GPS. They have averaged just over 64 points per game while holding the opposition to an average of 35 ppg.

"These kids, I'm so proud of them. I'm going to call it a great year. We go down in overtime to Lawrence County without the district MVP in the lineup. I thought our kids played their hearts out for Caroline. They didn't want this to be their last game," said coach Reuter.

"It's tough. You don't get many chances like this. I can tell you it hurts. It's a pretty emotional time for us right now. I thank the Lord for letting me come over here and coach these girls. I had just as much fun this yeas as any year I have ever coached, if not more. I love each and every one of them. We just came up one point short. We didn't lose, we just ran out of time."

Lawrence County 8 9 9 10 8 — 44

Bradley Central 7 5 13 11 7 — 43

Lawrence County (44) — Keianna Gilbert 20, Emily Williams 10, Clayton 5, Hunt 5, GA. Gilbert 4.

Bradley Central (43) — Brooke Copeland 13, Rebecca Reuter 12, Kayla Beavers 11, Foremont 5, McCracken 2, Withrow.

3-point goals: Lawrence County 1 (Williams); Bradley Central 3 (Beavers 3).

Records: Lawrence County 26-7; Bradley Central 32-2

Bradley Central coach Jason Reuter knew his team was in for a "battle" Thursday night, but when one of their top players had to be taken to the hospital, the fourth-ranked Bearettes made Cumberland County pay on the scoreboard.

The Bradley girls were up by 14 points with 1:11 to go in the first half when District 5-AAA Player of the Year Caroline Smith took a vicious elbow to the jaw that sent her crashing to the hardwood. Although she got to her feet a moment later, she staggered to the bench where she collapsed. She later passed out twice in the locker room before being taken to the hospital.

"She was bleeding from the mouth and will probably need some stitches," coach Reuter related after the game. "She was going to get a scan at the hospital." Smith was treated and released from the Crossville hospital, but though the initial test results looked good, her status for Saturday night's sub-state game is still in question.

The flagrant foul after a rebound brought a collective gasp from the more than 1,400 fans at the Cumberland County High School gym, but didn't draw a whistle as all three officials claimed they didn't see it, however the referee who was 10 feet from the action immediately stopped play when Smith went down.

After going into the locker room at the half, not knowing the condition of their teammate, the Bradley girls retaliated by exploding for 45 second half points, turning the game into an 82-42 "mercy rule" rout to capture the Region 3-AAA championship for the second straight year.

"We played the second half for Caroline," proclaimed coach Reuter. "She was gone to the hospital and we didn't know the extent of her injuries, but the girls came out focused, and made them pay on the scoreboard."

Bradley (32-1) salted away its 27th straight victory with a 25-8 run in the third period before the Bearette bench finished the job with a 20-point final frame.

As the Region 3-AAA champs, Bradley will play host to Lawrence County (25-7) in a TSSAA sub-state game Saturday evening at Jim Smiddy Arena, with a state tournament berth on the line in the 7 p.m. tipoff.

The Lady Wildcats fell to top-ranked Riverdale (30-3) by a 59-31 margin in the 4-AAA title game Wednesday evening. Cumberland County (19-15) will travel to Murfreesboro Saturday to face the Lady Warriors.

Lawrence County's seven losses have all come to state-ranked teams — No. 1 Riverdale three times, ninth-ranked Blackman twice and once each in tournaments to No. 3 Clarksville and fourth-ranked (AAAAA) North Gwinnett, Ga.

"Lawrence County is a tough team and with only one day to prepare (because the region title game was postponed a day due to bad weather), plus not knowing for sure what Caroline's situation will be, makes it that much tougher," expressed coach Reuter.

Cumberland County came out strong Thursday night, taking advantage of three Bearette turnovers in the first 90 seconds to net the game's first four points.

Bradley answered with a pair of Brooke Copeland free throws and a steal and fast break basket by Lee University signee Kayla Beavers to even the game.

Smith, who has also signed with the Lady Flames, put the Bearettes ahead for good with a 3-pointer a few moments later.

With Copeland, Beavers and Smith combining for all the Bearettes points in the opening frame, a late 7-0 run gave Bradley an 18-11 lead at the break.

After senior Monica Hammond netted the first Bearette basket of the second period, the Lady Jets put up eight straight points to pull within one with 5:50 to go in the half.

Bradley then went on a 15-0 streak before Smith hit the deck and the two teams traded a pair of free throws afterward for the 37-23 tally at the intermission.

The Bearettes opened the second half by netting 14 of the first 20 points and then closed the third frame with 11 unanswered points.

Bradley forced its 14th "running clock" of the season when Beavers nailed a pair of free throws with 4:56 left to play, after the first of three Lady Jets fouled out of the contest.

Copeland, who along with Beavers and Smith made the all-tournament team, led all scorers with 22 points, plus the 6-foot-1 post pulled down eight rebounds, blocked three shots, copped a trio of steals and dished off a pair of assists.

Beavers drained a trio of treys on her way to 13 points and five rebounds, while Smith tallied 10 points, three caroms, two steals, a trio of helps and a blocked shot in her less than 15 minutes of play.

Sophomore Rebecca Reuter came off the bench for a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Keila Formont netted eight markers and handed out six assists.

Bradley hit 50 percent from the field, with 17-of-35 shot in front of the arc and 7-for-13 beyond it. The Bearettes also drained 27-of-34 free throws.

Cumberland County shot just 26 percent (13-of-49) from the field, including just 2-of-16 from long distance, with NCAA Division I signee Jaclyn Reagan netting 16 points and District 6-AAA Player of the Year Taylor Vaden netting 10.

Bradley won the backboard battle by a 34-16 margin, while the Lay Jets turned the ball over 21 times and the Bearettes 18.

"We did a good job on not giving them second chances, plus we shot the ball well and turned them over with our defense," coach Reuter stated. "We knew this would be a physical game, but there was just a weird feeling to the game."

Cumberland County 11 12 8 11 — 42

Bradley Central 18 19 25 20 — 82

Lady Jets (42) — Jaclyn Reagan 16, Taylor Vaden 10, Vanwinkle 6, Daughtery 5, Noel 3, Teeple 2, Shinn, Sliger, Dick, Green.

Bearettes (82) — Brooke Copeland 22, Kayla Beavers 13, Rebecca Reuter 11, Caroline Smith 10, Formont 8, Summars 5, Hammond 3, Davis 3, Whited 3, Withrow 2, McCracken 2, Carroll.

3-pointers: Cumberland 3 (Vanwinkle 2, Regan); Bradley 7 (Beavers 3, Reuter, Smith, Summars, Davis).

Free Throws: Cumberland 13-of-21; Bradley 28-of-34.

Records: Cumberland County 19-15; Bradley 32-1.

Read more: Cleveland Daily Banner - Bradley Bearettes battle to region championship Physical game has casualties