The Daily Times

Down to the wire, the outcome undetermined, players and coaches sweating out the final ticks with nerves and adrenaline firing — it’s just another chapter in the saga of the Piedmont and Maryville series. The Scots held on Saturday for the 59-56 win in the rivalry that has come to define women’s basketball in the Great South Athletic Conference.

“Senior night or not this is always a big rivalry,” MC’s C. J. Dake said after her last home game as a Scot.

But the GSAC banners that hang just left of the scoreboard were also on their final game. Maryville moves to the USA South next season and isn’t going alone. Piedmont and LaGrange will be transferring their flags as well.

While women’s basketball wasn’t a prime part of any of the trio’s independent decisions, it does take the top three program’s in this year’s GSAC standings and throw them into a mix with two or three more perennial South region powers already residing in the USASAC.

The Lady Lions got arguably the toughest turnaround on the schedule, playing LaGrange Wednesday before coming to Maryville Saturday — and coming away with a split that easily could have been a sweep.

“The conference will be different all around. There are a lot of good teams in the USA South but I think Maryville and Piedmont will always be battling for a top spot,” Piedmont coach Jamie Purdy said. “You have to be able to play tough games back to back. It’s part of it. When we got to the USA South we’ll be playing those Friday, Saturday and Saturday, Sunday games.”

The rivalry that has grown and transcended players, coaches, athletic directors and presidents will not be broken and may well live healthily in a much deeper and more talented pool. Certainly the one upsmanship between the only two schools to ever claim a GSAC title or take the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAAs have pushed both program’s to be better.

“ It’s just a great grudge match. Scrappy, fun, it’s always a battle and its great to get this win at home,” MC coach Darren Travillian said.

But looking to the rafters after the win that — barring a major upset in the next few days — gives MC the regular-season crown one last time, the coach looked across to the other side of the court where the team’s NCAA tourney years are recorded in hanging tapestries that might appear just as at home in the main hall of a Scottish castle.

“One of our goals was to win this conference one last time, but obviously those are the banners we look at most of the time.”

It was the final game on Randy Lambert Court in Boydson Baird Gymnasium for Cathryn Jane — the lone Scots senior who favors her initials.

It was the final Great South game in the gym through which all conference titles must pass.

And it was the last meeting in the regular season of a rivalry that defined the success of two programs while it forced recognition of a conference.

And it’s not over. It’s merely starting the next chapter.

Marcus Fitzsimmons is sports editor at The Daily Times and enjoys reading the comments posted to his columns on http://thedailytimes.com .

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