Sweet Three-Peat: Lady Generals Claim 3rd Straight GNAC Title

It is tough to beat a team three times in one season, especially when the last two are 9 days apart and each on that team's home court.  Despite wearing the home whites and occupying the home bench and home side of the scoreboard, the Harding Academy Lady Generals were in hostile territory facing the host team in the GNAC tournament championship game.  Buoyed by their faithful fans, the No. 2 seeded Nashville Christian School Lady Eagles blasted out to a 14-4 lead before the Lady Generals' two-time all-conference guard Ellie Slagle drained a three with 6 seconds left to cut the first quarter deficit to 14-7.  Riding the sudden momentum change, Harding seized control in the second quarter, outscoring the Lady Eagles 11-3, and took a tenuous 18-17 halftime lead.  Meanwhile, all-conference selection Lily Wilmoth was held scoreless in the first half, a fact that was about to change just as surely as the momentum was going to shift to and fro over the remaining 12 minutes.  In a back and forth contest of wills, Harding barely extended its lead to 26-23 at the end of three quarters thanks in part to Wilmoth's three-pointer and 1-2 trip to the free throw line.  The early going in the fourth quarter belonged to NCS, as the Lady Eagles flipped the score on the two-time defending GNAC champs and took a 3-point lead midway through the final stanza.  A bucket by Olivia Craig and a three-point play converted by Wilmoth got the Lady Generals back to within one point, but time was running out.  After the teams exchanged a couple of missed front ends of one-and-one free throw attempts, the Lady Eagles made the critical mistake of fouling Wilmoth and sending her to the line with the chance to tie and possibly take the lead with 53 seconds left in regulation.  In the process, NCS lost its second all conference team member in the span of less than a minute.  While the NCS staff took its full 30 seconds to tender a substitution, Wilmoth prepared herself for the two biggest free throws of her basketball career.  Toeing the line, Wilmoth let fly the first free throw, which hit the iron three times before falling through the net to knot the game at 32-32.  Then, capping off her 9-point second half, Wilmoth shot and swished what turned out to be the game winning free throw to give Harding a 33-32 lead with 53 seconds to go.  The Lady Generals played tough defense for the final 53 seconds, not allowing a good look and not fouling while protecting their one-point lead.  Although no one could seem to hit free throws to ice the game, the final seconds finally ticked away, the clock hit zero, the buzzer sounded and the celebration began.  Lily Wilmoth's team-high 9 points were backed by her GNAC all conference teammates Ellie Slagle and Olivia Craig, who scored 8 points apiece.  Harding's defense was also a big part of the game, as the combination of Slagle, Wilmoth and Kendall Burch helped shut out NCS all conference sharp shooter Karmen Drake for three quarters before she was able to make 3 of 5 free throws in the fourth quarter for an uncharacteristic 3 point game total.  The twin combination of Ella and Olivia Craig helped slow down all conference standout Liza Watson, and Ellie Frist made one of the most critical plays in the final minutes of the game, blocking a shot into a jump ball situation where the possession arrow favored Harding.  Lydia Beachum also played tough at both ends of the court before having to miss most of the second half due to injury.  Harding, which finished 16-3 on the season and 16-1 in the GNAC, landed 3 of the 7 first team all conference slots for the first time in three years with Slagle, Wilmoth and Olivia Craig donning the medals.  While the celebrations were enjoyed by all, the win was especially sweet for 8th Grade co-captains Ellie Slagle and Ellie Frist, the only members of all three conference champions in the last three years.  In Slagle and Frist's three years of varsity basketball, the Lady Generals posted a 45-8 record with a staggering 43-2 record against conference opponents -- including an undefeated run against the GNAC during their seventh grade year -- which produced the three straight regular season and tournament championships.  Once again, the GNAC trophy will return to its rightful resting place in the Harding Academy trophy case.  After enduring a season in which the team returned only 4 varsity players, next year's team will return 6 very experienced and talented members with two full years of varsity eligibility remaining.  While the future is bright for the quest for a fourth straight title next season, for now the Harding Academy Lady Generals can enjoy what they've worked so hard to accomplish - a third straight conference championship.