Taylor Dunn
Trojan Torch
Photos by various fans
For the first time in school history, the Golden Trojans have their hands on the Gold Ball.
Saturday night at the Glass House on the campus of MTSU, the Lady Trojans defeated the Upperman Lady Bees 41-39 in the State Championship game to bring home Dyersburg’s first Girls Basketball Gold Ball. The Trojans and the Bees exchanged blows all night with 9 lead changes and fought until the final seconds.
The Trojans trailed at the end of the first quarter 7-11. Freshman KayKay Strayhorn led the way with 5 of the 7 first-quarter points with a layup and a go-ahead 3 ball. Senior Netala Dixon scored the other two points with a mid-range jumper half-way through the quarter. The Trojans came out hot in the second quarter with an immediate 3 from Strayhorn. Netala Dixon drained a free throw and Strayhorn hit another 3 midway through the quarter to make it a one-point game. Joya Crawford sank a mid-range jumper to give the Trojans the lead with 3 minutes to go in the half, but Upperman answered with a layup to go up one. Dixon hit another mid-range jumper to put the Trojans up by one with 1:40 to go in the half and Strayhorn’s team held Upperman to go into halftime leading 18-17.
Chelby Jordan came out of the locker room ready to score as she made a jumper in the first 20 seconds of the 3rd quarter to put the Trojans up 3. Upperman responded with a jumper of their own to make it a one-point game again before KayKay Strayhorn sank another 3 to put the Trojans up 4. Two minutes later Jordan made a layup to put the Trojans up 6 and the Lady Bees answered with a huge 3 to cut the lead in half. Kalli Maclin hit two free throws to put the Trojans up by 5, Upperman responded with an and-1 layup to cut the lead down to 2 points. Joya Crawford responded with a 3 to put the Trojans up by 5 again, but Upperman responded by scoring 6 unanswered points to lead the Trojans 31-30 going into the 4th quarter. A Kalli Maclin layup paired with a Joya Crawford 3 put the Trojans up 35-31 midway through the 4th. Upperman scored their first points of the quarter on a layup with 3:43 left but Chelby Jordan responded 30 seconds later with a deep 3 to make the score 38-33. Upperman then scored 6 unanswered points to lead 39-38 with 1:29 left to play. With 50 seconds left to go, Joya Crawford took the ball down the floor and sank an electric and-1 jumper over 3 Upperman defenders to put the Trojans on top 40-39. Netala Dixon grabbed Crawford’s missed free throw and was also fouled. Dixon sank one of her 2 free throws with 0:47 left to go to make the score 41-39, Trojans. The Trojans held Upperman in the final 47 seconds to capture their state championship.
The crowd erupted as the buzzer sounded, with the hundreds of Dyersburg fans who made the 3-hour journey to Murfreesboro. The Lady Trojans stormed the court, and as expected of a team who won their school’s first state title, they were very emotional.
KayKay Strayhorn led the Lady Trojans with 14 points, followed by Joya Crawford with 10. Following the game KayKay Strayhorn, Netala Dixon, Joya Crawford, and Chelby Jordan were named to the All-State Tournament team. Joya Crawford was announced as the State Tournament MVP.
“It's great,” Dyersburg Head Coach Tim Strayhorn said following the title win. “It's great for our program and great for our city. “It is great for our team and our parents. Everybody sacrifices a lot. You know, I'm probably not the easiest guy to play for. I'm getting a little nicer than what I used to be. But, it is big for the Lady Trojans and the Lady Trojan basketball program. And, it's big for our school.”
Through months of grueling practices, games, injuries, and what seemed to be food poisoning the night before their final game, the Dyersburg Lady Trojans were finally on top.
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