Marshall County scored 14 points in the first quarter and the Tigerettes led by four at the end of the period before tallying just 13 more points the remainder of the game, suffering a season-ending 56-27 loss at Maplewood Comprehensive School in Saturday night’s Class 2A state sectional round.

“I didn’t coach good enough, we didn’t play well enough, and the best team won,” MCHS coach David Steely said. “It hurts, but it’s supposed to hurt and if it doesn’t hurt we weren’t practicing hard enough and didn’t have enough expectations, so this hurts today.”

The four-time state champion Tigerettes have made 22 state tournament appearances since 1925 and were looking for back-to-back trips for the first time since 2007-2008.

“I’m proud that I know this group of kids, the sophomores through seniors did get to play in the state tournament last year,” Steely said. “When they get my age they will reflect back on that year and that day and playing at the state tournament and it will mean a lot to them.”

Maplewood is making its fourth trip to the state tournament and first since the 1980 season and they have not won a state tournament game since a 58-57 win over Walland from Blount County in 1966.

The Lady Panthers (31-5) play Macon County (32-1) on Thursday in the first round at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro while the Region 6-AA champion Nolensville Lady Knights (27-4) take on Melrose (30-5) in the bottom half of the Class 2A bracket.

Nolensville eked out a 35-31 home win over Westmoreland (29-5) on Saturday in the sectional round and will be making its first trip to the state tournament.

In the top half of the state tournament bracket, Gatlinburg-Pitman (22-11) plays Upperman (28-6) and Grainger takes (32-3) on Westview (30-3) on Wednesday.

The Tigerettes (19-10) were led in the scoring column Saturday night by Dionna Crutcher with 10 points.

Hannah Davis had seven points, Kelsey Keiler netted five, Karlye Wiser had one 3-pointer, and Israel Hurt rounding out the scoring with two points.

The Tigerettes had 15 turnovers in the contest and went 8-for-18 from the field and 3-for-19 from three-point range, while also struggling from the free throw line (2-for-13).

Wiser, Keiler, and Crutcher all had one 3-pointer.

Maplewood’s Larose Morrow led all scorers in the contest with 21 points and five 3-pointers while Renetta Watson was also in double figures with 11 points and three treys.

Ty Gardner had nine points, Darynana Thompson and Zariah Cameron netted four points apiece, Tyler Holt tallied three, and T’Kia Carter and Ryan Holland added two points apiece.

Keiler, Davis, and Courtney Agnew all finished their Tigerette careers Saturday night and Steely had some glowing remarks about his leaders.

“This group of seniors and really even the juniors too have been to three straight sub-states, averaged 20 wins a year in their careers, have been to the state semifinals, have had a lot of success and are really good people,” Steely said. “I know they will continue that in life and be really successful, so I love all of them.”

Steely also talked about the travelling Marshall County fan base that easily outnumbered the hometown Maplewood fans.

“We came and watched Maplewood the other night and they had a bigger crowd than this, so I was a little surprised by that,” Steely said. “I’m super proud of our fans, the main thing is I know they love those kids and know how much the kids have put in to this.”

“We had a lot of parents, a lot family, but we had a lot of just people who are just fans who have been following the Tigerettes for years and they know the Tigerette tradition, so they were here to watch and it felt good to walk out there and hear them clap for you and stand up during starting lineups, so I really appreciate everyone showing up tonight and supporting us.”

Marshall County 14 6 0 7-27

Maplewood 10 17 7 22-56

Marshall County (27): Dionna Crutcher 10, Hannah Davis 7, Kelsey Keiler 5, Karlye Wiser 3, Israel Hurt 2.

Three-Point Goals (3): Wiser, Keiler, Crutcher.

Free Throws (2-for-13): Davis 1-for-2, Crutcher 1-for-6, Wiser 0--for-1, Keiler 0-for-1, Hurt 0-for-3.

Maplewood (56): Larose Morrow 21, Renetta Watson 11, Ty Gardner 9, Darynana Thompson 4, Zariah Cameron 4, Tyler Holt 3, T’Kia Carter 2, Ryan Holland 2.

Three-Point Goals (5): Morrow 3, Watson 2.

Free Throws (5-for-13): Holland 2-for-2, Watson 1-for-1, Holt 1-for-2, Gardner 1-for-5, Morrow 0-for-2, Cameron 0-for-1.

Halftime Score: Maplewood 27, Marshall County 20.