The road to a TSIAA South Division regular season title will still run through JK Stanley Gymnasium. Boyd regained control of the top spot in the standings Monday, going on the road and defeating Franklin Road Christian 53-47 to improve to 7-1 in division games and 11-8 overall.

Macie Bush scored a career-high 24 points and Brooke Kesey added 13 points, six rebounds and five blocks as the Lady Broncos snapped a five-game losing streak at the perfect time. 

The skid started with a loss at Franklin Christian Dec. 14 – the team’s first division loss in the last two years – but ended in Murfreesboro Monday when the group put together a solid effort on the road.

“Extremely proud of the way we played – it was a true team effort,” said coach Tim Page. “Really proud of our kids and our fans too. The energy was there, our team was supporting from the bench and we had a lot of support from the stands. It meant a lot to see them all working together.”

Bush was on fire all night against the Lady Minutemen, hitting a career-high six triples on her way to a career night. Bush broke a 39-39 tie with a 3-pointer with 3:54 to play, followed with a tough floater on the next possession and sealed the game with another triple from the left corner with 1:58 left to make it a six-point game.

“Something about playing Franklin Road brings out the best in Macie. She shoots the lights out against them in their gym and when they come to ours,” said Page, noting Bush has hit 13-of-24 from deep against FRCS in four games over the last two years.

Sophomore Katie Bechtel also had a huge impact, scoring seven points, grabbing six boards and dishing out five assists. Bechtel set up Bush for three of her long balls and also helped put the game away late with a driving layup and an assist for a Zoe Oliver layup. 

Oliver finished with four points and four assists while Cydney Jane Perry added three points and three assists. Senior Kelly Bush started the scoring Monday with a big jumper in the lane for her lone points.

The big win also included a big milestone moment as Kesey – just a sophomore – recorded her 1,000th point in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Kesey made her impact felt on both sides of the floor in the win, erasing shots in the paint as Boyd’s defense made a gigantic leap after allowing over 60 points a game in December when the team went 3-7.

“Defensively, it was a great collective effort. Our pressure on the ball was better, our rotations on help were better and we covered for each other really well. That’s going to be how we have to play if we want to win another championship this season,” said Page.

Boyd will be looking for another TSIAA win Friday when it travels to Smyrna to face Lancaster Christian. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. 

Editor's note: Jeff Simmons is an assistant coach on the Lady Bronco basketball team.