Oak Ridge junior forward Destiny Kassner (30) grabs a rebound during a 48-47 loss at Fulton on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. The game was decided on a free throw with 0.2 seconds left. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
KNOXVILLE—The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats lost a close 48-47 game that was decided by a free throw in the final 0.2 seconds at Fulton on Saturday. Here are photos by Luther Simmons. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge sophomore Jada Guinn (24), shown driving to the basket here, scored a game-high 27 points during a 48-47 loss at Fulton on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. The game was decided on a free throw with 0.2 seconds left. (Photo by Luther Simmons)
KNOXVILLE—It was the closest game of the year for the Lady Wildcats, and it was decided on a free throw after a controversial foul was called with 0.2 seconds left.
The half court foul, beyond the three-point line, sent Fulton junior LayLay Manning to the line to shoot three times. Giving hope to Oak Ridge fans, who wanted overtime, she missed the first two. But after timeouts were called, Manning dropped in the third free throw, giving the Lady Falcons a 48-47 win over Oak Ridge in a non-district game on Saturday, the last of the regular season.
It was a battle throughout, with the two teams regularly trading leads. Most of the time, neither team led by more than four points. One reporter compared it to a state championship game.
Fulton (22-4, 7-2 District 3-AA) was led by Keke McKinney, a 6-foot-1 senior forward who announced in October that she is going to Kentucky. She scored 22 points in the hot, loud, packed Jody Wright Arena on Saturday.
Oak Ridge (24-3, 16-0 District 3-AAA) was led by Jada Guinn, a 5-foot-8 sophomore guard. She scored a game-high 27 points, with 18 in the second half alone. [Read more…]
Fulton sophomore post Janae Fuqua (32) shoots over Oak Ridge sophomore post Mykia Dowdell (34) during a 30-26 win for the Lady Falcons at Wildcat Arena on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 3 a.m.
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats pulled within two points, 28-26, with 10 seconds to go, but Fulton emerged with a 30-26 win at Wildcat Arena on Saturday.
It was the last regular-season game of the year for Oak Ridge (22-4, 16-0 District 3-AAA). The Lady Wildcats enter next week’s district tournament as the top seed and are guaranteed a spot in the Region 2 tournament. The Lady Wildcats finished the regular season undefeated in District 3-AAA after a 47-32 win at Campbell County on Friday.
This year’s game between Oak Ridge and Fulton was closer than last year’s, when the Lady Wildcats fell to the Lady Falcons 71-34.
The taller Fulton team (11-8, 4-4 District 3-AA) was led on Saturday by junior guard/post Keke McKinney, who had a game-high 16-points in the low-scoring game in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Wildcat Arena. Freshman guard Lay Lay Manning, who was fouled four times, made three free throws and two baskets for seven points total. [Read more…]
Tee Higgins (5) of Oak Ridge had 20 points, 13 rebounds, and the game-winning three-pointer against Fulton on Saturday. (Photo by Luther Simmons)Â
KNOXVILLE—The Wildcats needed a big basket late in the game, and Tee Higgins hit one. With his team down by two, the sophomore stayed cool under pressure and hit a three-point shot with 3.1 seconds left to give Oak Ridge a one-point victory over Fulton in front of a raucous sold-out crowd at Jody Wright Arena in Knoxville on Saturday.
The dramatic all-out battle was the last regular-season game for the two top-five teams.
The Falcons dominated early, applying pressure that hurt Oak Ridge, and they led by as much as nine points through much of the fast and furious first half. The Wildcats were “out of whack†offensively, Coach Aaron Green said.
But Oak Ridge got back into the game behind sophomore Anthony Gibson, who came off the bench to score 10 points in the first half and 13 on the night. [Read more…]
