MOUNT IDA -- Fourth-seeded Mountain Pine looked like a team that spent most its energy nearly upsetting second seed Magnet Cove in the semifinals while third seed Poyen had some left in the tank from its semifinal blowout loss.
The Lady Indians shot 44.4 percent from the field when they weren't turning the ball over, and the cold Lady Red Devils shot only 28.2 percent, leading to a 45-35 Poyen victory in the third-place game of the Class 2A East Region tournament Sunday at Jeanne Smith Arena.
"No excuses, but we just seem to be very tired," Mountain Pine coach Jamie Williams said. "I have two who don't feel well, and the rest just put it all out there yesterday."
Poyen (20-8) led from wire-to-wire by using its good shooting to overcome 21 turnovers. The Lady Indians shot eight of 20 (40 percent) in the first half and eight of 16 (50 percent) in the second.
They turned the ball over five straight times near the end of the first quarter, only leading 7-5 by period's end. Once they started taking care of the basketball, they took control of the game with a 12-1 run for a 21-8 lead in the second quarter, leading 21-10 at halftime.
"That's pretty typical of us. Against England, we had 27 turnovers," Poyen coach Mickey Shaffer said. "We just turn the ball over a lot. When we don't, we can be pretty good."
The Lady Devils shot just two of 13 (15.4 percent) from the first-half floor, adding 11 turnovers to their woes. They didn't reach 10 points until 36 seconds left in the opening half, recovering to shoot nine of 26 (34.6 percent) from the second-half field.
Poyen increased the lead to 31-14 with a 10-2 run in the third quarter. The Lady Indians reached their biggest margin at 39-19 by scoring the first five of the fourth, holding Mountain Pine (11-13) scoreless over the first half of the quarter.
The Lady Indians missed the front end of all three of their one-and-one attempts, undergoing a scoring drought of more than five minutes. Mountain Pine took advantage with a 10-0 run, getting back within 39-29. The closest the deficit got was 43-35 with 32 seconds left.
"It was a little too late, but at least I saw something," Williams said. "I need to see some kind of life heading into the state tournament, so even though it was too late, it was good to see at least a little bit of fight in them."
Poyen guard Shelby Ellis, the 2A-5 conference's leading three-point shooter, got going early and often en route to a game-high 24 points, scoring the game's first five for an early cushion. After Ellis had only three points against top-seeded England in the semis, she finished eight of 11 from the floor, four of six on threes and four of five on free throws.
"That's pretty typical of her, especially against teams in a zone," Shaffer said. "In my 27 years coaching, she's percentage-wise the second-best shooter I've ever coached."
Emma Goodman added 12 points for the Lady Indians.
Katlyn Miller was Mountain Pine's most consistent player throughout the game, finishing with a team-high 12 points. Part of her scoring included two threes and a three-point play.
"She didn't drive yesterday at all, she didn't shot yesterday at all, she didn't get to the free-throw line at all yesterday," Williams said. "So I told her this morning, 'Katlyn, you have no idea how big your role is. You create on offense, and you do a good job on defense, making them make mistakes.' She got back into that step today."
Mountain Pine post Brook Meeks recorded 10 points and seven rebounds in the second half after just one board in the first.
"Brook is always pretty consistent on defense, and it takes someone else to light a fire in them and then it'll light a fire under her," Williams said. "She follows suit, so when someone else gets going, she gets going."
Mountain Pine awaits Mineral Springs, the winner of the South Region, at 7 p.m. Wednesday while Poyen faces defending state champion Spring Hill at 7 p.m. Thursday. The start of the 2A tournament has been pushed back to Wednesday due to weather delays in the West Region tournament at Johnson County Westside.
Poyen 7 14 13 11 -- 45
Mountain Pine 5 5 9 16 -- 35
Poyen: Ellis 24, Goodman 12, Blacklock 6, Rhodes 2, Langley 1.
Mountain Pine: Miller 12, Meeks 10, Godwin 8, Crosby 5.
Sports on 03/02/2015