JOHNSON CITY — David Crockett left no doubt.
And the Lady Pioneers’ reward was the school’s first-ever regular-season girls basketball championship.
Crockett got 25 points from Brylee Tullock, earning the Big Five 5 Conference title by methodically taking down rival Daniel Boone with a 53-30 decision at Freedom Hall on Friday night.
Last year the Lady Pioneers tied for first place, but they won’t have to share this time.
“It’s back to back for us,” Crockett coach Thomas Gouge said. “What’s sweet about it is it’s the second consecutive year we were picked to finish last, and we ended up finishing first. Kind of like déjà vu. The girls knew that, and played with a chip on their shoulders. I’m so proud for them.”
The victory also clinched the second straight 20-win season for the Lady Pioneers (20-5, 6-1).
The Lady Trailblazers (20-8, 5-3) — who lost by five points to Crockett two weeks ago — will have the No. 2 seed for the district tournament.
The boys’ game was all Boone.
The Trailblazers turned a strong early lead into a blowout with a dominant third quarter that was punctuated by a pair of highlight-reel dunks by Jamar Livingston. Boone won 74-48, getting 29 points and nine assists from Livingston.
“This was huge,” Boone coach Chris Brown said. “We want to go on a streak here and play our best basketball when the tournament starts. Tonight was a complete performance.”
LADY PIONEERS START QUICK
Crockett’s girls burst out of the gates and took a 20-4 lead.
“We came out ready to play and got after it from the start,” Gouge said. “We had a game plan and the girls executed it perfectly. And Bella Ferguson hit a couple of big 3s and got us going early.”
It was a scrappy contest for the rest of the first half, but Boone was unable to trim away much of the Lady Pioneers’ lead. Crockett took a 30-17 advantage into the locker room.
Crockett still led by 13, 39-26, after a tough-to-score third quarter for both teams. The Lady Pioneers held Boone to just 13 second-half points.
It was a standout game for Tullock, who added seven rebounds to her game-high points total.
“Brylee did her thing late in the game,” Gouge said. “She took over and made clutch shots and free throws. Gabby Wood did an amazing job for the second consecutive game on (Boone’s Andrea) Flores.”
Aaliyah Story added 10 points and eight rebounds, and Ferguson finished with five assists.
Kyleigh Bacon was the only player in double figures for the Lady ’Blazers, finishing with 13 points.
TRAILBLAZERS ROLL
It probably wouldn’t hurt Boone’s feelings to play the rest of its games at Freedom Hall after a whirlwind shooting performance.
“Maybe we can make this our home for a little while,” Brown said with a laugh. “I thought the ball was moving. And when the ball is moving, we get great shots. Jamar had nine assists. When he’s doing that it’s scary.”
The Trailblazers (10-17, 3-5) were also good on the defensive end of the court.
“We thought we could lock in defensively and do some things,” Brown said. “We thought we could contain them. I thought our defensive performance was great.”
Crockett (12-14, 4-3) was led by Reagan Cash’s 12 points.
