Time To Get Nice

No. 1-ranked Heritage team on a mission

By Stefan Cooper
Editor
Blount Press Row

They know what they want.

They’ll tell you.

“Our main goal is to win the state tournament,” Heritage senior Carsyn Swaney said, “so we have to come in every single game, every single practice and be focused.”

That focus shifts to the Region 3AAA championship as No. 1-ranked Heritage (30-2) meets Lenoir City (19-12) in an all-important sectional qualifier tonight at Sequoyah High School.

Tipoff is 7.

The winner hosts Saturday’s sectional final with a state tournament berth hanging in the balance. The loser hits the road in hopes of punching their ticket to Murfreesboro.

“I told them this is do or die,” Lady Mountaineers coach Rick Howard said. “If you aren’t in it, you don’t have chance to win it. You’ve got to be serious about every game.

“Regardless of what you’re hearing on the outside, you’ve got to come ready to play every night.”

Exhibit A: the region tournament opener with Red Bank last week at Ron Wilson Gymnasium.

Swaney, a finalist for the state’s Miss Basketball award, opened against the Lady Lions with a withering nine points, three blocks and two steals in the first three minutes. When co-District 5AAA co-Player of the Year Chloe Heath joined in, the Lady Mountaineers made the game’s outcome a forgone conclusion after only a quarter.

In an eventual 79-27 Heritage rout, Heath, a Carson-Newman signee, set the tempo with a game-high 28 points, including a pair of treys. Swaney, a Middle Tennessee State University signee, wasn’t far back with 23 with three connections from downtown.

Most noticeable was how Heritage overwhelmed its guests as a team.

Ten Lady Mountaineers cracked the scoresheet in a fastbreak attack that saw the trio of Faith Morris, Emma Carswell and Olivia Boyce tally five points each.

Aleyah Smith struck for only a deuce, but a first-quarter scoop layup with the left hand sure had a lot of sauce on it.

“We were kind of struggling around Christmas time,” Heath said. “We just knew we had to pick it up and start playing our best. Coach Howard gave us a few talks, and we started trying extremely hard in every practice.”

That was the motivation behind the quick getaway against Red Bank, Boyce said.

“It’s a lot easier to pounce on someone in the first quarter than it is the fourth,” she said.

Swaney and Heath will leave Heritage at season’s end as the school’s second- and third-leading scorers all-time, respectively. Those accomplishments have done nothing to take their eyes off the prize, both said.

“I’m just happy for all my friends and family who have helped me through this and my teammates who’ve supported me,” Swaney said.

“Everybody’s been behind us and supporting us throughout our four years,” Heath said. “We wouldn’t be here without them. It’s a big opportunity, and I’m very thankful for it.”