"I think defensively we played well," Piedmont coach Matt Deerman said of the tournament. "We're not going to score a whole lot of points this year and we're going to have to live off our defense."
The down side of Piedmont's first three games was turnovers. Deerman said the Bulldogs averaged 25 turnovers per game.
"Protecting the basketball has got to be our No. 1 priority," he said of this week's practices.
The tournament opened on Wednesday and each of the six teams played two games. In its first game, Piedmont downed Ranburne 58-41 after leading 25-16 at halftime. Senior Raven Prater scored 10 of her game-high 22 points in the third quarter as Piedmont outscored Ranburne 24-12. Prater had two 3-pointers and a 4-for-4 effort at the free throw line and added six steals. Point guard Hilarie Hincy scored 15 points on 4-for-5 shooting from outside the arc and had six rebounds. Jeleca Johnson had 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Against Saks, Piedmont won 45-39. The Bulldogs limited the Wildcats to two points in the second quarter and led 23-18 at intermission. Johnson had 15 points and Prater scored 14. Aniesha Alexander had eight points. Brea Dixon had nine rebounds, seven steals and five points.
"Against Saks, Saks denied Raven the ball everywhere she went," Deerman said. "The fact that we had other people step up and produce was important."
In the championship Saturday, defending Class 3A state champion Crossville rallied in the second half to defeat Piedmont 38-30. The Bulldogs led 19-17 at halftime but were ice cold from the floor in the second half. Crossville made both ends of one-and-one three times in four tries in the final minute of play to preserve its win.
Prater led Piedmont with 14 points.
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