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After taking it on the chin in the opening quarter, Lady Red came roaring back in the first round of the state finals to top Liberty Creek 59-44, setting up a semifinal clash with White County this Friday at the Glass House in Murfreesboro.

The situation looked bleak early for Cocke County as the Lady Wolves jumped into the lead 20-7 after one. Karmine Carmichael led the way for Lady Red early as she scored five of the seven first-quarter points while Blakelyn Clevenger registered the other basket on her way to a 10-point night. Meanwhile, Lady Red had no answer for Kaylor West of Liberty Creek in the first frame as she was four-of-five from the field for 10 points while Emerson Fitzwilson was three-for-three from the field for eight points.

The momentum shifted for good in the second as the once electric Wolf offense was unplugged by a tenacious Lady Red defense as the Cocke County girls blanked Liberty 14-0 in the second to take a 21-20 lead at the break.

While starting slow from the perimeter, Ava Wheeler tore it up in the second half as she was 5-for-11 from outside the arc and led her team with 19 points on the night. Her third-quarter run helped spur the Lady Red offensive explosion that gave them a 41-31 lead after three as the Lady Wolves never regained their offensive prowess from the first quarter. Also helping the cause was Carmichael cleaning the glass for 10 rebounds on the night, leading all players with six offensive and four defensive rebounds. She also contributed 11 points on the night as she was 5-for-8 from the field. Also of note, Ellie Proffitt had seven points on the night and four rebounds. Brookelyn Clevenger had six points as did Chloe Niethammer.

Liberty Creek actually outshot Cocke County from the field as they were 18-39, meaning they shot 46% while Lady Red was 18-for-43, shooting 41%. However, the big difference was that Lady Red was 9-for-24 from beyond the arc, for 37% while Liberty Creek was just 3-for-11 for 27%. And, in one of the forgotten stats, Cocke County was 82% from the charity stripe while Liberty Creek barely broke even at 53%.

Liberty Creek also outrebounded Lady Red 26-to-23 but they led in turnovers, giving the ball away 17 times to just 11 by Lady Red. Ball security proved to be a key difference between the squads as Lady Red swiped 14 steals on the night while Liberty Creek only managed five thefts.

The win sets up a collision court between Lady Red and White County Friday at 2:15 p.m. at Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, with the winner playing for the state championship Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against the winner of Dyersburg and Alcoa. White County got the semifinals by beating Covington 69-49.