District 3-AAA girls: Powell gets team effort in 54-28 win over Karns

 

CLINTON—Three starters got into early foul trouble, but the Powell Lady Panthers got strong performances from the bench to eliminate Karns 54-28 in the District 3-AAA tournament on Friday.

Powell (14-13) had 10 players scoring, compared to five for Karns.

The Lady Panthers move on to play Campbell County in a semifinal game at Anderson County High School at 3 p.m. Saturday. They also earned a spot in the Region 2 tournament with their win over Karns.

Powell was ahead by only three points, 13-10, at the end of the first quarter. But the Lady Panthers went on a 26-8 scoring run in the next two quarters to open up a large lead.

The Lady Panthers were led by Brooke Huffaker, who scored 14 points. Junior wing Kaitlyn Lentz added 13, and sophomore guard Haley Schubert, who sat out much of the first half with two fouls, had eight.

Karns (7-21) was led by Trinity Fisher, who had a game-high 17 points. No other Karns player had more than six.

Powell Coach Christin Webb said Schubert picked up two fouls early, and two more starters, Lentz and Madison Tidmore, also got into early foul trouble. She pulled them to save them for the second half.

But when they had to, the bench players performed well, Webb said.

“Everyone was working well as a team and doing what they needed to do,” she said.

Karsten Miller picked up 10 rebounds for Powell, and Lentz had nine.

Lauren Sutton had a game-high 12 rebounds for Karns.

Karns Coach John Marsh said the girls team matched Powell’s intensity early, but they missed free throws, which put them behind. The Lady Panthers’ press in the second half wore down Karns, Marsh said. His team has also been affected by injuries and recent sickness.

Still, a victory over Gibbs on Wednesday was the first district win for the Karns girls since the 2007-2008 season, said Marsh, a first-year coach.

He said the five seniors on the Karns team have raised expectations and “bought into” the program.

“They responded,” Marsh said.

In another semifinal game Saturday, Oak Ridge (22-4) will play Anderson County (13-17). That game starts at 4:30 p.m. at Anderson County High School in Clinton.

The winners of the Oak Ridge-Anderson County and Powell-Campbell County games will meet in a championship game at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The losers will play in a consolation game at 6 p.m. Monday.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

 

 

 

 

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