TSSAA girls basketball tournament: Nashville area storylines, red-hot teams and players to watch
Nashville area high school girls basketball teams in Division I will begin the TSSAA playoffs with district tournament action this week. For Division II teams, their region tournament play starts this week.
Here are the hot teams, top players and storylines you need to know.
5 red-hot teams entering TSSAA basketball playoffs
Clarksville
Clarksville (25-0) has cruised this season behind the leadership of Clemson signee and McDonald’s All-American Imari Berry. She’s averaging 25.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 4.2 steals. However, the Lady Wildcats’ regular-season schedule hasn’t been too tough and will only get more difficult.
Goodpasture
The Lady Cougars are 20-3 and haven’t lost since Dec. 22, fueled by all-district players Lazaviona Hawkins, Addi Ruffin and Brooklyn Jones. Goodpasture is trying to reach the state tournament for just the second time since 1996 after reaching the DII-A quarterfinals in 2020.
Page
The Lady Patriots (20-7) were 7-7 entering the holiday break but have won 13 games in a row. Page is showing in its second season since moving up to Class 4A that it can compete in a larger classification. Mary Elizabeth Fox (15.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg) has been one of Williamson County’s top players and Randy Coffman is seeing success in his second year as coach.
Wayne County
The Lady Wildcats (24-3) have won 12 straight. Defending Class 1A Miss Basketball Blair Baugus is averaging 17.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.1 blocks, while shooting 57% from the field. But Wayne County has depth. Jac Keaton averaged 18.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.7 steals last week.
White County
The Warriorettes (27-2) have won nine consecutive games and 14 of the last 15 and are beating good teams. White County has defeated Livingston Academy and Upperman twice apiece and avenged its loss to Stone Memorial during the streak. Senior post player Celeste Reed is averaging 16.4 points and 10 rebounds.
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3 storylines to monitor in TSSAA basketball playoffs
Will a Metro team make the state tournament?
Hillsboro (17-4) came close last season and Raegan Starks is picking up the slack after key players graduated last year. East Nashville (17-3) is an underrated team in Class 2A, making up ground from the loss of injured guard Jazz Walters. The Eagles' Class 2A title in 2016 is Metro's most recent girls championship. Pearl-Cohn (12-6) could also find its way to the state tournament behind star Erianna Thomas.
Watch out for Webb School - Bell Buckle
Webb (13-12) took some hits early this season after moving up to DII-AA without six Power 5 signees from last year’s DII-A state championship team. But Ukrainian shooting guard Dasha Biriuk (17.5 ppg, 7 rpg) is developing into one of the state’s top players with Power 5 scholarship offers from Vanderbilt, Maryland, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Louisville, BYU and Clemson. And the Lady Feet are finding ways to feed other talented players like Makynli Bacon.
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Is there a public school state champion in the group?
Last year, Middle Tennessee failed to produce a public school state champion in any class for the first time since 2002. There’s a solid list of schools that could advance to the state tournament this year, but is there a champion among them? Teams that contended last year — Clarksville, Cookeville, Coffee County, Livingston Academy, Upperman, Wayne County and York Institute — must prove they can get over the hump for a gold ball.
10 must-see Nashville area high school girls basketball players
Reese Beaty, York Institute, Jr.: The Clemson commitment has the Dragonettes poised for a deep run. She’s averaging 20.4 and 6.6 rebounds.
Ellie Butler, Livingston Academy, Sr.: Butler was a key player in the Lady Wildcats’ Class 3A state runner-up finish last year. She’s averaging 20.4 points and 5.5 rebounds.
Daisy Gale, PCA, Sr.: The Mars Hill signee is one of the top players in the DII-A playoffs. She’s averaging 18 points and five rebounds.
Shelby Higgins, Richland, Jr.: The 6-foot shooting guard is having a big year, averaging 19.4 points and 7.2 assists.
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Izzy McPherson, Sycamore, Sr.: The Chattanooga signee averages 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
Addison Melton, Central Magnet, Sr.: The Lipscomb signee and five-year starter is averaging 22 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists a game while shooting 80% from the free throw line.
Saviya Morgan, Columbia, Sr.: The Tennessee softball signee is averaging 16.5 points and 5.9 steals.
Ella Ryan, Brentwood, Jr.: Ryan is one of the state’s top scorers. She’s averaging 23.4 points, 3.3 steals and 2.8 assists.
Erianna Thomas, Pearl-Cohn, Sr.: She’s one of Metro Nashville’s most dynamic players. Thomas averages 16.8 points and 5.5 rebounds. She had a triple-double against Overton this season.
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Ally Weathers, Loretto, Jr.: Weathers averages 18.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and four assists. She surpassed the 1,000-point career mark this season.
Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA girls basketball: Nashville area storylines, teams, players to watch
