McKenzie Cochran and Lili Wilken didn’t show a lot of emotion Thursday – just like after most games. Their basketball season may have ended, but they were already thinking of next year. The Page High School leaders scored all but eight of the Lady Patriots points in the school’s state debut, but fell short of a veteran Maryville team 57-39 at MTSU’s Murphy Center. “We’re just taking a night off and getting back to work tomorrow just for next year,” said Cochran, who scored 17 points Thursday. “I’m sure everyone’s going to touch a basketball tomorrow and just get back at it." Wilken agreed. The reigning Region 6-AAA MVP collected 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals. That kind of mentality has shaped the Lady Patriots all season and helped the team without a senior reach the state stage for the first time in school history. The young group displayed steady growth all year and now has state experience under their belt. "We want to be right back here and do better next year," Cochran said. Maryville’s senior big three – Denae Fritz, Aaliyah Vananda and Gracie Midkoff – paced the Lady Rebels. The trio were upended in their state opener last season and kept Page at arm’s length right from the start. Fritz, who is headed to Iowa State this fall, tallied a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Vananda – an Eastern Tennessee State signee – knocked down three of her four 3-point attempts and closed with 17 points. Midkoff, a Carson-Newman signee – tossed in 13 points, including another three triples. “We knew they were going to be good,” Wilken said. “We just needed to go out there and just probably play harder than we did and not let them, you know, dominate the way they did.” Maryville led from start to finish, but Page always seemed just a couple plays away from turning up the heat on the veteran ball club. After a Vananda 3-pointer with 6:01 to play in the second quarter gave Maryville a 21-12 lead, Cochran answered with her own triple off a Braley Bushman feed. Page forced a turnover on the next possession but came up empty. Fritz pushed the lead back to nine with a 3-point play. Wilken closed the scoring in the first half with three free throws after being fouled on 3-point attempt to pull Page within 29-22 at the break. Cochran opened the third quarter with a quick 3 to get within 29-25, but the Lady Patriots went cold missing their next eight shots over a nearly 4 1/2 minute stretch. Maryville only managed to stretch the lead to 34-25 before Cochran converted a layup with 3:32 to play. The Lady Rebels then ended the frame on a game-changing 12-2 run to take control. “I think we came in prepared, we just needed to play harder,” Cochran said. Cochran provided another 3-pointer with 2:35 remaining to bring Page within 51-39 in the fourth, but that was as close as the Page girls could get. The Lady Patriots missed their final four shots and Maryville tacked on the next six to stretch the final outcome. Page managed just 28% shooting on the night and hit just 6-of-24 from beyond the arc. After Cochran's made 3-pointer to start the second half, the Lady Patriots connected on just 4-of-26 attempts from the field. The Page girls were upended in the region semifinals two years ago, falling short against Lebanon in the sectional round last year before breaking through to the state stage for the first time this season going 79-17 over the three-year stretch. Page coach Ron Brock said the sour ending doesn’t take away from what Page has accomplished. “I hate to end it the way it did. You always want one more,” Brock said. “But you can't dwell on the fact that you lost a game. You've got to accentuate the positives we had this year. And there's so many of them to look back on and be proud of.” Page will remain in Class AAA next year as the state adds another classification in high school basketball. Most of Williamson County’s teams will move up a division. The Lady Patriots will join Region 4-AAA’s District 8 after playing in Region 6-AAA's District 11 for the past four years. As Cane Ridge coach Joanne Tribue said after the Lady Ravens 57-49 loss to Page in the region championship last week, “At least we won’t have to worry about them anymore. They’re going to be even better next year.” “We probably won’t be playing most of these teams again,” Wilken said. “We’ll just keep working hard and try to prepare for next year.”
Video Highlights: https://youtu.be/3MWWLA0ZdPU
MHS 16 13 17 11 – 57
PHS 9 13 7 10 – 39
MHS (57) – Aaliyah Vananda 5-9 4-4 17, Gracie Midkoff 5-9 0-0 13, Tatianna Czitchovik 1-3 0-0 2, Danae Fritz 8-17 3-4 20, Emma Meschede 0-1 1-2 1, Christiana Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Mariah Hollenkamp 0-0 0-0 0, Jada Edwards 2-3 0-0 4, Chesney Lingerfelt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals – 21-43 8-10 57.
PHS (39) – Lili Wilken 4-14 5-5 14, McKenzie Cochran 6-16 2-4 17, Abigail Ward 2-7 0-0 6, Mary Claire Pike 0-1 0-0 0, Sadie Porter 1-3 0-0 2, Braley Bushman 0-5 0-0 0, Jenna Gicewicz 0-0 0-0 0, Brooklyn Burrow 0-0 0-0 0. Totals – 13-46 7-9 39.
3-pointers – MHS 7-15 (Vananda 3-4, Midkoff 3-5, Fritz 1-3), PHS 6-24 (Cochran 3-7, Ward 2-6, Wilken 1-6). Rebounds – MHS 28 (Fritz 10, Vananda 7), PHS 27 (Wilken 12, Porter 10). Assists – MHS 15 (Vananda 6, Midkoff 5), PHS 7 (Cochran 2, Porter 2). Steals – MHS 11 (Vananda 5, Czitchovik 4), PHS 9 (Wilken 7). Turnovers – MHS 13, PHS 15. Blocks – MHS 3 (Fritz 3), PHS 0. Total Fouls – MHS 8, PHS 10. Fouled Out – None.
Source: Williamson Herald
