By JIM STEELE
pressbox1.com

Back in the mid 1990s, Martin-Westview coach Kevin Tuck had assumed both boys' and girls' basketball coaching jobs.

In those days, Westview wasn't really known as a basketball power. Sure in the early 1980s, the Lady Chargers reached substate, but the Charger boys' basketball team had suffered a 12-year regional tournament drought. And in 10 years, the Lady Chargers had experienced six coaching changes.

Coach Tuck said, going into the 1993 season, said, "We have to do what it takes to win a state championship." In a few years, he did just that, topping Livingston Academy in the state championship game of 1996. Friday at 1 p.m. CDT, the two teams meet again at the state tournament, this time in the semifinals.

But in those days, such a notion was almost unthinkable. State championship? Westview hadn't been marginally close to advancing past the regional tournament and Tuck was talking state championship?

"Well," he said, and this has always stuck with me, "if you are afraid to talk about winning the state championship, you might as well not even go; what's the point of going if you aren't going to try to win the thing?"

Furthermore, Tuck's first year as Lady Charger coach, to the outsider, didn't produce great results. Westview was 4-22 and the dogs were howling. Parents approached me, wanting to know "when are we ever going to hire a good coach."

Understand, many of those parents had senior kids who were benched in favor of numerous freshmen players, players who had tremendous athletic potential. A year later, the Lady Chargers were in the regional tournament with a chance to do well, but injuries played a big role in a loss to Chester County in the 7AA tournament at Milan.

A year later, however, the Lady Chargers knocked off McNairy Central in the Region 7AA semifinals, but lost to Obion Central in the championship and was relegated to a road substate game at Harding Academy in Memphis. The Lady Chargers made their first substate appearance in 13 years and made the best of it, knocking off Harding and advancing to Murfreesboro and the 2A elite eight.

It was a short stay. Marshall County led 18-15 at the half, but turned it on in the second half. One could see that the Lady Chargers were scared to death. Even the night before, I remember visiting Gleason's coach, Randy Frazier, who had his Class A Lady Bulldogs back at state for a sixth srraight year, and he was loose as a goose, watching TV with assistant principal Mitchell Parham. They weren't thinking about their first round game that much and were light and jovial. Tuck, meanwhile, seemed tight as as a drum. And his kids were too, many passing up wide-open 4-foot looks in fear of being the one to screw something up.

A year later, the Lady Chargers were back. They had a good lineup with an unusual approach. There was Mona Thompson, Krystal Alexander, Tasha Atkins, Becky Hurst, Crystal Hurst, Julie Lacey and Beth Anne Boroughs. Boroughs, a sophomore, was capable of a 40-point night, but with these Lady Chargers, those seven kids each averaged about eight points per game. You look at the scorebook and see nine, eight, eight, seven, seven, seven, six, five, four, etc. Lady Charger assistant Lawrence Hurst pointed at the scorebook and asked me, "who do you guard?"

Good question, one few teams had an answer for.

The Lady Chargers were district and regional champs, but suffered a blow. Alexander suffered a knee injury that sidelined her from the district tournament on. She was tall, quick, athletic, could score and rebound. But she was facing surgery.

But the Lady Chargers had a first-round opponent in Happy valley and Westview made quick work of the Lady Warriors. Soon, Martin-Westview found itself on an express lane to a Class 2A state title game with Livingston Academy. Yes, the same Lady Wildcat team that boasted Indiana signee Sunday Watson, who was the 1996 Miss 2A Basketball winner, and Tiffany Krantz, an Auburn signee who was the Miss Basketball runner-up.

Everybody figured Livingston Academy would win an easy game. All it had to do was show up and Westview would lay down.

But people didn't figure on WestView's uncharitable defense, a defense that could turn into offense and points very quickly.

It was a back and forth game, but neither team held a clear advantage. Westview edged in front by two with about 30 seconds to play and Livingston Academy had the ball. A stop would give the Lady Chargers the gold ball.

But they misplaced Krantz, who from the right wing, buried what looked like a 23-foot triple for a one-point lead.

The Lady Chargers had about 12 seconds to get the ball down the court for a score. Tuck was almost standing on his chair, begging for a time out, but Thompson and Atkins blew through the stop sign. Atkins rushed the lane and, while almost directly under the basket, threw the ball up. A whistle blew. Was she fouled? Did she charge? Did she walk? Did she step out of bounds? What was even more intense is that there was just seven-tenths of one second remaning on the clock. That's right, .7.

The official diagnosis was foul on Livingston. Atkins would shoot two shots for the state title. A miss and a make would mean overtime. Two misses would relegate the Lady Chargers to silver-ball status. Atkins emerged from the lane jumping, laughing, elated that her team had a shot. Then, upon realizing, "oh crap, I have to shoot these," Atkins started crying. Senior Crystal Hurst saw the tears and the emotion and rushed to Atkins side, hugged her and said, talking right into her ear, "Tasha, you have to compose yourself. Calm down, you have to hit these. And don't worry, it's just like at practice and you've done that a bunch of times."

There was a time out called and Atkins stepped to the line. It almost looked like she held the ball straight out in front of her, released her hands and willed the first shot in. The crowd shrieked. Overtime, at the worst, was assured. Atkins did the same thing again. It seemed that the ball floated in the air for an eternity, as if magically levitated.

And it went in.

Livingston tried to extract one last miracle, but the horn sounded. Thompson had won tournament MVP and the Chargers brought home the gold ball in what was perhaps the most exciting finish in state basketball tournament history.

Friday at 1 p.m. CDT, the Lady Chargers and Livingston Academy meet on the floor for the first time since that day, this time in the Class AA semifinals.