Fisher drops 21 as Lady Yellowjackets beat North Greene in Class 1A quarterfinals
Greenfield’s Rayanna Fisher (11) drives to the basket against North Greene in the Class 1A girls basketball state quarterfinals at the Murphy Center on March 6, 2024.
MURFREESBORO — No doubt there were nerves for the Greenfield girls basketball team on Wednesday, who was playing in the Class 1A state quarterfinals for the first time since 2020.
But freshman Rayanna Fisher showed that her nerves were minimal. She shot 50 percent from the floor and hit 9-of-10 free throws to help the Lady Yellowjackets beat North Greene 55-49 in the Class 1A quarterfinals on Wednesday.
“There were nerves in the locker room, and some of them looked anxious sitting there,” Greenfield coach Tori Liggett said. “I talked to (former Weakley County School superintendent) Randy Frazier, who has been up here a couple of times, and he told me that the first team to calm down will be the one that wins. Playing in this big arena was big for us, so settling down was big.”
But Fisher found the driving lanes that she needed.
“If anyone is down on the block, I try a little quick step,” Fisher said. “If the girls steps over, then I pass it off to the post.”
Greenfield (23-10) plays Moore County in the Class 1A semifinals at 12:45 p.m. on Friday.
When nerves were at their maximum early in the game, it was senior Anastyn Vujicic that had three big baskets to help keep Greenfield in the lead (13-12) after one quarter.
“It was important for us to get the game going early,” Vujicic said. “We had some nerves. I wasn’t open to shoot the ball, so I had to do something else and get to the basket.”
The Lady Yellowjackets went on a 9-0 run in the second quarter with freshman Rayanna Fisher hitting a 3 and senior Emma Grace Alford completing a three-point play.
“We felt like we had a little bit of an advantage with our quickness, and Ray(anna Fisher) is pretty quick with that first step off the dribble, and then having Emma Grace (Alford) or Anna Grace (Abernathy) on the block to pass to. Both were aggressive early.”
But two 3-pointers by North Greene cut Greenfield’s lead to 33-30 at halftime.
Greenfield forcing the Lady Huskies into nine turnovers in the first half, while scoring 11 points off those turnovers helped keep them in the lead.
North Greene kept trying to eat into the lead in the third quarter, but Vujicic had two big baskets and Fisher hit three free throws to help the Lady Yellowjackets stay in the lead.
The big play came to start the fourth quarter as Fisher completed the three-point play with 6:28 remaining to put Greenfield up 47-40. Greenfield hit 6-of-8 free throws in the final 1:30.
Alford finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Vujicic finished with 11 points.
