The Coalfield Yellow Jackets faced the Van Buren County Eagles in a TSSAA Class 1A state tournament semifinal at the Charles M. Murphy Athletic Center on Friday, March 14, 2025, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — Coalfield’s girls basketball team should not be short on motivation next season.
The Lady Jackets had a championship-game appearance within their grasp Friday at MTSU’s Murphy Center, only to see it ripped from their reach in final seconds.
Coalfield led by seven points with 3 minutes and 3 seconds to go, but Van Buren star guard Abigail Netherton hit a 10-foot floater with 1.3 seconds left to win the Class 1A state semifinal, 54-52. (WATCH)
Coalfield sophomore guard Lexi Hammock shot a half-court heave at the buzzer that bounded off the backboard. She then collapsed onto her back in a remote corner of the court, covering her face with her hands in disbelief as to what just transpired.
Only seconds before, she calmly sank three free throws to knot the game at 52-all with 13 seconds remaining. Those makes were supposed to have stopped the leak and allowed Coalfield a second chance at a win in overtime.
Van Buren inbounded the ball and got it down the floor to 6-foot-2 post Cara Mills around the top of the key at the Van Buren 3-throw line. Mills found the trailing guard, Netherton, and she darted down the right side of the line to score the game-winner.
“I thought, ‘I need the ball back.’ And then Cara gave me it. I probably wasn’t going very fast, but it felt like I was going 100 miles per hour,” Netherton said. “And I just rose up and shot it and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s in.’ Seeing it swish, it was amazing.”
The Eaglettes (28-6) will play at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Class 1A championship, having prevented Coalfield (31-6) from making its first-ever, title-game appearance.
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Hammock finished with 12 points Friday. Lilly-Claire Lowe had 14, including three 3s. And McKinlee West posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Coalfield limited Mills’ production to just 10 points and 11 rebounds after she had a monster game in the quarterfinal round.
But Netherton had 30 points on 10-for-22 shooting. Every time Coalfield got a lead, Netherton connected from deep to close the gap.
Hammock hit a 3 with 6:28 to play in the fourth for a nine-point lead, only to watch Netherton score the next five points.
“(Netherton), she’s a stud,” Coalfield coach Josh Wright said. “We gave her all we got. We switched up on her (defensively). Coming off those screens, she’s tough.”
Up seven points with just more than 3 minutes remaining, Coalfield missed an open layup and Netherton hit a 3 on the opposite end to trim the score to 49-45.
Coalfield didn’t make a field goal the final 4:37 of the contest, missing a handful of close looks that could have thwarted Van Buren’s comeback. Coalfield shot 31.6 percent from the floor.
“We just wore down a little bit,” Wright said. “We missed some easy shots. I think we had five or six different girls just miss an easy shot late. So it wasn’t one person. We got there as a team, and I told them that we’re leaving as a team.
“It was a tough one to swallow. But for the girls coming back, I told them, ‘This summer, this fall, when we’re running, you got to remember this feeling.'”
Nevertheless, Coalfield returns 12 of 15 players from its roster for another crack at glory in the 2025-26 season.
Despite the crushing loss Friday, senior McKinlee West appreciated the entirety of the season. Coalfield won its first-ever state tournament game and set a school record for wins in a season.
“I’m just thankful we had a good year, because last year we were so bad. I’m thankful for all the girls. They’ve been great,” she said, fighting through her emotions.
“I’m so grateful to get to play with them and thankful the Lord has given me so many people and relationships I’ve gotten to grow with. It’s not just about basketball. We’re always together. At school, we’re together. After school, we’re together. … I’m going to miss it a lot.”
5STAR PHOTOS powered by SmartBank — Coalfield vs. Van Buren (2025 Class 1A Girls Semifinal)