2 weeks Ago By By JEFF BIRCHFIELD [email protected]
David Crockett fended off a spirited West Ridge challenge on Wednesday night in girls semifinal action at the Hardee’s Classic basketball tournament. Aaliyah Story had the last of her game-high seven blocks with 11 seconds left Kayleigh Doner sang a pair of free throws with four seconds on the clock as the Lady Pioneers held on for a 71-67 victory. Crockett will be looking for a fourth straight Hardee’s title when it faces Cocke County in Saturday’s championship game.
The Lady Pioneers certainly weren’t able to look ahead. “It’s always a battle with West Ridge. We’ve developed a rivalry and we know we’re going to get their best shot,” Crockett coach Thomas Gouge said.
“We needed a wake-up call. We have to fix a layup issue. We probably missed 10 and I don’t understand that.
” Still, Crockett’s lineup of all-star players came through with big numbers led by Brylee Tullock with 33 points. Story had a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, along with the blocked shots. At the guard positions, Bella Ferguson had 15 assists and six rebounds.
Doner fought through the bigger bodies for 10 points and eight rebounds. “Brylee wasn’t feeling well tonight, but she carried us in the second half and made some big-time plays,” Gouge said. “Aaliyah is an unbelievable athlete.
She had seven blocks despite sitting a lot of the game with a couple of fouls 40 feet away from the basket. "Kayleigh, there’s one ball on the court, but the person who wants it the most goes and gets it. She’s 5-foot-1 and she had eight rebounds.
I hope we all develop that hunger and grit.” West Ridge featured a balanced attack led by Carter Jones with 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Randi Smith posted her own double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Millie Shelton and Addison Bunn also scored 11 points. Allie Reilly finished with nine points and five assists, while Campbell Jones tallied eight points. The Lady Wolves knocked down nine shots from 3-point range.
West Ridge coach Kristi Walling was certainly proud of the way her team pushed Crockett to the limits. “You hate to lose any time, but that’s a really, really good team,” Walling said. “For us to compete with them and have a chance, I feel good about our team.
Our kids have all bought in to playing hard. The effort and intensity are there. They have so many weapons.
I told our kids that we had to hit shots and be consistent with them. We did that tonight.” Cocke County 48, Daniel Boone 43 Down by six points heading into final quarter, the Lady Red scored the first seven points of the fourth against the Lady ’Blazers.
Karmin Carmichael had a team-high 11 points, while guard Blakelyn Clevenger finished with nine, including a key 3-pointer to start the Lady Red comeback. “I’ve coached Blakelyn since fourth grade. I’ve said if my life was on the line, the ball would be in Blakelyn’s hands,” Cocke County coach Boddie Bible said.
“She saw she could hit shots for us at the big times. She has a great basketball IQ. We made big plays and took care of the basketball late in the game.
” Daniel Boone junior guard Andrea Flores scored her 1,000th career point during the contest and ended with a game-high 17 points. Ashlyn Seymore provided 13 points Averie Steadman had 10, hitting three shots behind the arc. “We never recovered from that.
We tied it up and even took the lead, but we then couldn’t score or get a stop on the other end,” Daniel Boone coach John Good said about Cocke County’s fourth-quarter run. “Then at the end, we stood around when we needed to get a good shot. We’ll learn from it and grow.
” Tri-Cities Christian 83, Johnson County 48 Emery Haws fired up 34 points as the Lady Eagles soared past the Lady Longhorns in the losers’ bracket semifinal. Faith Greene ended with 18 points and Janell Tabor scored 10 as Tri-Cities Christian dominated the final two quarters after holding a 39-32 lead at the break. The Lady Eagles outscored Johnson County 44-16 in the second half.
MacKenzie McClain was Johnson County’s top scorer with 14 points. Three other Lady Longhorns — Abby Dickens and Desirea Robinson with 11, and Izzy Thompson with 10 — reached double figures. Providence Academy 62, Chuckey-Doak 58 The Lady Knights got past the Lady Black Knights in Wednesday’s early game.
Kinley Painter brushed the right strokes with 15 points for Providence. Myla Johnson posted a dozen points, Rowan Gilmer scored 10 and Aerin Hicks accounted for nine. Kennedy Brown was the leader for Chuckey-Doak with 15 points.
Isabella Karriker tallied 12 points and Saniah Atchison ended with 11..
