Union City’s girls celebrated a feat Tuesday night that was 11 years in the making.
The Lady Tornadoes won the program’s first district tournament championship since the 2013-14 with a 53-48 triumph over Dresden in the 14A finals at Bethel University.
School Communications Director Mike Hutchens said Union City notched its 22nd victory in the process, representing its most wins in a season since that magical campaign 11 years ago.
Particularly impressive was the Twister girls beat the two teams that finished the regular season tied with them atop the district standings in the semifinals and finals.
Sophomore sensation Sh’Nyla Moss swept individual awards in postgame ceremonies with district regular season and tournament MVPs and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Moss had 21 of her game-best 25 points after the intermission as the Lady Tornadoes rebounded from a shaky first half. Additionally, Moss added another personal milestone by scoring her 1,000th career point in only two years of play on the varsity level
Head coach Mason Storey, in just his second season at the Union City helm, did not hide his pride in Tuesday’s feat.
“It’s been a while, and this was such a big accomplishment for the program,” he said after the contest. “Creating a winning culture is tough, but this group has bought in and has worked so hard to get to this point. I’m extremely proud of them.”
While Moss was the headliner and caught fire after intermission with 14 points in the third quarter, she was not the only Lady Tornado to shine.
Kennedi Robinson came up with a handful of important buckets and finished with nine points. Blair McKinnis sank maybe the most critical basket of the game when she bottomed a 3-pointer at the third-period buzzer to give UC a five-point edge. And Uriah Davis, who did another fantastic job defensively in holding Dresden ace Allie Spaulding to 10 points, doubled the Twisters’ lead with 3:20 to play with a timely triple that made it 45-39.
Nobody had a bigger impact on the contest than Union City’s Debrionna Jones. The UT-Southern signee was a warrior in the post on the defensive end, snagging 11 rebounds and blocking six Dresden shots to control the narrative for her team.
“There were so many huge efforts, both individually and collectively,” Storey continued. “Our only simple adjustment at halftime was to start attacking the basket. Sh’Nyla really got going downhill in the third quarter, and that boosted her confidence and everyone else’s, too.
“Blair’s 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter was huge, and the one that Uriah knocked down that gave us a little cushion in the fourth quarter was big as well. I thought Kennedi (Robinson) had one of her better games of the year, and I was so proud of her rebounding and aggression.
“And I don’t know if there are enough words to describe what Deb (Jones) gave us. She was absolutely a beast around the basket on the defensive end and played with tremendous passion and aggressiveness.”
Both teams put on gritty defensive displays in the first half when they could muster very little offense against the other. Dresden led 8-7 after one period and 18-15 at the intermission after neither team made a field goal for the first four minutes of the second frame.
The second of two trifectas by Moss in the third stanza put UC in front 29-28 midway through the quarter after four lead changes and a pair of ties. The suddenly-hot and efficient Lady Tornadoes scored 23 points in the segment with Moss hitting 6-of-6 from the foul line.
Alli McMillan sank a pair of charities with less than a minute to play to give the Twisters the first of two eight-point leads and secure the outcome.
Storey was quick to add that there’s still more for his team to accomplish this season.
“I want them to celebrate this tonight because it’s a great accomplishment,” he said. “The road to get here is never easy.
“But there’s still a lot ahead of us. The kids labeled this our ‘redemption season’ at the start of the year, but nothing has been redeemed yet. We want to go further than we did last year (region semifinals), and I believe there’s a lot more that we can accomplish.”
In addition to Moss, several Lady Tornado players dotted the all-postseason teams. Jones made the All-District and All-Tournament list and earned a place on the All-Academic Team. Davis was chosen All-District and to the All-Defensive team, while McKinnis made the All-Tournament squad. Robinson was a member of the All-Academic Team, reserved for seniors with at least a 3.0 grade point average.
Union City will host either Halls or West Carroll in the first round of the Region 7A Tournament on Friday night at 7 o’clock.
(photos: Mike Hutchens – School Communications Director)
