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A girls’ high school basketball team in the state of Tennessee is fueling a shot clock debate due to recent stall antics. The early-game approach blocked a potential comeback bid.
Ironically, it was their own comeback attempt that was thwarted.
Portland and Liberty Creek faced off in the District 9-3A Championship. The Panthers entered as the No. 2 seed. They looked to upset the top-seeded Wolves.
Liberty Creek had already beaten Portland handily in the regular season. As a result, the Panthers’ coaching staff attempted to throw the Wolves off their game.
High school basketball team stalls for 3 minutes.
@sports_bk With no shot clock, Portland stalled for the first three minutes of Monday’s District 9-3A girls basketball championship. The Panthers ran out of time late as Liberty Creek won the title. The full story is at Mainstreetpreps.com #basketball #hoops #shot #portland #wolves
Portland held the ball for the first three minutes and 15 seconds of action. There was no offense, no movement, and no attempt to get the ball in the hoop.
There is no shot clock in Tennessee girls’ basketball. The Panthers did not have to dribble the basketball until pressed by the defense.
“I’m trying to get them to come out and guard. That was it,” said coach Scott Steinbrecher. “If they would come out and guard, then that was it. We weren’t trying to, you know, hold it for four quarters and make it an 8-6 game.”
After a lengthy moment of inactivity, Liberty Creek finally stepped out to defend. It forced the game to get moving. Those precious seconds wasted by Portland might’ve come back to bite.
Portland’s comeback fell short.
The Panthers trailed by 23 points at one point in the game. They trimmed that deficit to single digits in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, time ran out.
The Wolves won the championship game, 48-40.
After seeing clips of the slow start go viral on social media, many viewers weighed in on the debate. Should high school basketball have a shot clock?
The internet was split on the topic. It’s something that’s been discussed for some time according to Main Street Preps.
Last June, the Basketball Coaches Association of Tennessee asked the TSSAA Board of Control for a shot clock to be considered as a formal proposal. No action was taken at the meeting
“This is exactly why high school ball needs a universal shot clock,” said one follower on X. “Three minutes is insane.”
Others put blame on the defense. “The other team can still play defense, go pressure someone.”
Even those on the Liberty Creek team were divided. MVP Maisen Lewis was critical of stall tactics.
“I’ve never played with a shot clock before, but I’ve really thought that the shot clock’s a good way to get the game moving. Because I think that the game should be played and not played like that.”
-Maisen Lewis
Her coach, though, said the opposite.
“I still am for not having it. I think it’s – girls’ basketball is already kind of messy enough. And so I think if you have that shot clock in there, it’s gonna speed up the game a little too much.”
-Wolves coach Kari Douglas
After wrapping up the district tournament, both teams will turn attention to the playoffs. We’ll see if Portland plays the waiting game against another opponent.