Sophomore point guard Courtney Ellison (10) dribbles up court ahead of freshman Destiny Kassner as the Lady Wildcats wallop Gibbs 64-36 in a quarterfinal district tournament game in Knoxville on Thursday. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
KNOXVILLE—The Lady Wildcats advanced to the district semifinals and guaranteed themselves at least three more playoff games in a 64-36 rout of Gibbs in a quarterfinal game on Thursday. They’ve also qualified for the Region 2 tournament.
Oak Ridge, the number three seed, will take on Powell, the number two seed, at 3 p.m. Saturday at Central High School in Knoxville.
Meanwhile, the Clinton Dragons boys’ team fell to Halls 46-32 in another quarterfinal game on Thursday. Halls, the number three seed in the District 3-AAA tournament, will take on Karns, the number two seed, at 6 p.m. Saturday.
That game will be followed by a matchup between Oak Ridge, the number one seed, and the winner of today’s elimination game between Anderson County and Central.
The game between the Mavericks and Bobcats starts at 7:30 p.m. today (Friday, February 13) at Central.
Eleven players scored for the Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats (19-10, 13-3 district)Â in the elimination game on Thursday. The top scorers were freshman post Mykia Dowdell with 14 points, freshman Jas Hembry with 11, and junior Caelyn Thompson with eight.
Top scorers for Gibbs (8-20, 6-10) were senior Haley Cavalaris and freshman Sierra Hucklebee with eight points each.
Oak Ridge forced a lot of turnovers, picking up steal after steal. They had five in the first minute alone. Once the Lady Wildcats started getting easy baskets, they could apply a lot of pressure, Coach David Scott said.
Oak Ridge also played a lot of players. Scott said the Lady Wildcats’ athleticism and bench helped them.
“We had a better start than we did in the past few games,” he said.
The young Lady Wildcats team picked up two of its three district losses this year against Powell. Scott said Oak Ridge will have to handle pressure and rebound better on Saturday, and play with more composure.
Junior post Caelyn Thompson (22) had eight points in a 64-36 rout of Gibbs on Thursday. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
Clinton had its worst shooting performance of the season in the Dragons-Red Devils game, but their defense—often stifling—held Halls’ scorers in check through three quarters, WYSH Radio in Clinton reported.
The Red Devils, however, manufactured points in the fourth, led by senior forward Parker Keith with 16 points and senior guard Braxton Moore with 13.
“He’s a great kid and a great leader,” Halls Coach Randy Moore said of Keith.
Clinton (7-16, 6-10) was led by freshman post player Trevon Hill’s 11 points, but no other Dragon was able to score more than six.
Halls (12-14, 8-8) advances to Saturday’s semifinal round and a date with second-seeded Karns. The Devils also clinched a berth in next week’s region tournament with the win.
Also playing tonight (Friday night) are the Anderson County Lady Mavericks. They will tip off against Campbell County at 6 p.m. for a berth in the semifinals and a Saturday showdown with top-seeded Halls.
Clinton’s Tyler Thackerson (20) was one of two Dragons with six points. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
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