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BY DAVE LINK
OAK RIDGE — Coach Paige Taylor and the Oak Ridge girls’ basketball team cleared a big hurdle Monday night in the Region 2-4A elimination semifinals at Wildcat Arena.
With a 70-62 victory over Farragut, the Lady Wildcats earned berths in the region championship and the state sectional round for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Oak Ridge (28-3) will play host to Bearden (31-4) on Wednesday night at 7 for the region title and home-court advantage in Saturday’s sectionals (substate), where a victory earns a spot in the Class 4A state tournament.
Bearden defeated Hardin Valley Academy 62-41 in Monday night’s second region semifinal.
Bearden is ranked No. 3 in the state by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association and Oak Ridge is ranked No. 4.
Oak Ridge’s current seniors lost region semifinals to Farragut last year and in 2022, so Monday’s victory was some redemption.
“They’ve gotten us a couple of times in my senior class’s four years here,” Taylor said. “We’ve talked about that, but obviously you can’t change the past. You can only do something about the present.”
Here are some highlights of Bearden’s and Oak Ridge’s victories Monday night…
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