Kaia Upton scored 20 points to earn the Tennessee Class AA girls MVP and East Nashville won the title in its first state tournament appearance with a 70-56 win over Upperman at the Murphy Center on Saturday night.
East Nashville (32-2) became the second straight Metro Nashville team to win the AA championship, following Martin Luther King.
Quentarra Mitchell added 15 points, Erica Haynes-Overton 14 and Le'Jzae Davidson 12 for the Lady Eagles, who won their last 26 games.
Sophomore Akira Levy, a Miss Basketball finalist, led Upperman (35-3) with 19 points. She also had six rebounds, five steals and four assists. Abby Greenwood added 18 points and Gracie Maynord 13 for the Lady Bees, whose 29-game win streak ended.
Levy's layup narrowed the deficit to 50-48 with 4:11 left, but East Nashville closed with a 20-8 spurt.
East Nashville outscored Upperman 18-6 in points off turnovers and 18-4 in fast-break points. The Lady Eagles outscored the Lady Bees 23-9 at the foul line.
