Anderson County eliminated the Lady Wildcats 42-22 in the second round of the District 3-AAA girls’ basketball tournament on Saturday at Powell.
The Lady Mavericks (16-11) will now play Halls (13-12) in a semifinal game at 4:30 p.m. Monday at Powell.
The Lady Wildcats (8-21) had advanced to the second round after eliminating Clinton 51-37 in a first-round game at Powell on Tuesday. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats eliminated the Clinton Lady Dragon 51-37 in the first round of the District 3 basketball tournament at Powell on Tuesday.
The Clinton girls fell behind early and could not dig themselves out of the hole.
The Lady Wildcats (8-20, 6-10 in District 3) extended their win streak over the Lady Dragons (4-20, 3-13) to 54.
Oak Ridge will next play Anderson County (15-11, 12-3) at 6 p.m. Thursday in Powell.
Senior guard Jaylin Henderson dunks in the fourth quarter on Friday, giving the Oak Ridge Wildcats a 60-45 lead over the Karns Beavers. (Photo courtesy Bruce Phillips)
Note: This story was last updated at 11:55 p.m.
The Oak Ridge Wildcats won the regular season district championship in a 87-69 win over the Karns Beavers on Friday.
It was the second time this season the Beavers were able to chip away at a large Oak Ridge lead, again narrowing the deficit to one point, but the Wildcats used zone play and defensive stops to help maintain and then stretch out their lead.
The game featured 17 three-point baskets between the two teams—Karns had 11 of them—and three crowd-pleasing dunks by Wildcats, with one by senior guard Jaylin Henderson and two by senior forward Isaac Merian. Oak Ridge (25-5, 15-1 in District 3) led the entire game.
Both teams started the game 14-1 in the district. [Read more…]
Isaac Merian of the Oak Ridge Wildcats scores two against Campbell County on Thursday. (Photo courtesy Bruce Phillips)
The Oak Ridge Wildcats have won eight in a row, and the boys’ team will finish the regular season this week with three games against Gibbs, Karns, and Fulton.
The Wildcats (23-5, 13-1 in District 3) beat Campbell County 80-41 in a rescheduled game at home on Thursday, and they won at Knox Central 79-62 on Friday.
They play at Gibbs, a district opponent, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. That’s followed by games at home this weekend—against Karns on Friday and Fulton on Saturday. Oak Ridge beat Karns 70-64 on Jan. 11. [Read more…]
Freshman Tee Higgins of the Oak Ridge Wildcats fires up fans with a one-handed dunk during the Friday night win over the Powell Panthers.
Led by the 26 points of senior Jaylin Henderson, the Oak Ridge Wildcats opened up a large lead against Powell in the second half on Friday night, avenging a loss to the Panthers earlier this season with a 79-47 win.
The Panthers (10-6, 6-4 in District 3) jumped out to an early lead as the Wildcats missed some easy shots in the first quarter. But the 6-foot-1 Henderson kept the Wildcats alive, and senior Isaac Merian dropped in a three-pointer near the end of the first quarter that gave Oak Ridge its first lead of the night. The Wildcats (19-5, 9-1) never looked back.
Oak Ridge Coach Aaron Green said it was likely the best game of the year for Henderson, a senior guard. He defended well, didn’t force shots, and wasn’t selfish with the ball, Green said. Henderson had six rebounds and five assists. [Read more…]
Senior Isaac Merian goes up for a shot as the Oak Ridge Wildcats keep their halftime lead on Saturday and give the Karns Beavers their first district loss.
KARNS—Oak Ridge fans grew nervous as Karns chipped away at a 13-point halftime lead on Saturday night, but the Wildcats were able to hang on for a 70-64 win, handing the Beavers their first district loss and giving the fans a satisfying victory.
The Wildcats were up 39-26 at halftime, but Karns knocked the lead down to 65-64 with 41 seconds left in the hard-fought basketball game.
But Oak Ridge (17-5, 7-1 in District 3) held the lead and then widened it in the last half-minute through big plays and clutch free throws.
The Wildcats weren’t able to stop senior Devin Sibley of Karns on Saturday—he scored 29 points—but seniors Isaac Merian and Jaylin Henderson of Oak Ridge combined for 40 points, scoring 20 each. Ted Mitchell added 14, Gevantay Gee knocked down 11, and Kevin Steen contributed 5. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Wildcats beat the Gibbs Eagles 66-37 at Wildcat Arena on Friday night.
They played without 6-foot-6 senior Isaac Merian on Friday, but the Oak Ridge Wildcats built a 30-13 scoring cushion in the first half and kept it in the second, taking a 66-37 win over the Gibbs Eagles at home.
The Wildcats (16-5, 6-1 in District 3) took advantage of a series of deflections and steals, especially in the first half, used an effective press, and stayed aggressive throughout the game, Oak Ridge coach Aaron Green said. Keeping the Eagles (0-12, 0-7) to 13 points in the first half was also important, Green said.
Merian injured his shoulder during a Tuesday night third-place game in the 2013 Arby’s Classic in Bristol, when the Wildcats lost 67-40 to the Christ Presbyterian Academy Lions. Merian is a scorer, protector, rebounder, and leader, and the team should know more about his shoulder injury after an MRI on Monday, Green said. [Read more…]
Lady Wildcat Mahala Myers, left, a senior, battles for the ball with a Hardin Valley player during a season-ending subregional game on Tuesday in Oak Ridge.
The Lady Wildcats’ soccer season ended with a 2-0 loss to Hardin Valley Academy in a subregional game on Tuesday.
Coaches said the game featured two good, evenly matched teams, but the Hawks took advantage of opportunities while Oak Ridge did not. Among the missed opportunities for Oak Ridge was a free kick that hit the crossbar with less than three minutes left in the game.
“They just finished theirs,” Lady Wildcats coach Jason Schmieg said. “We didn’t finish ours.” [Read more…]
Oak Ridge High School athletic director Mike Mullins announced Friday that ORHS alumnus David Scott will return as the girls head basketball coach for the Lady Wildcats after a two-year hiatus. Scott replaces Karra Jackson, who posted a 29-29 record in her two seasons at the helm before leaving to become the head coach at Ryle High School in Union, Ky.
Scott, 49, was elevated to head coach at Oak Ridge after serving four years as an assistant under ORHS legend Jill Prudden, who compiled a 908-161 overall record, which included winning three state championships and six state runners-ups, a press release said. Prudden stepped down in 2010. [Read more…]
Jason Schmieg has been hired as girls head soccer coach at Oak Ridge High School, according to Athletic Director Mike Mullins.
Schmieg replaces Tom Gorman, who compiled a three-year record of 43-10-8, which includes a 2012 District Championship with the Lady Wildcats. Coach Gorman resigned in early June to become the fitness manager for the Rush in Oak Ridge.
Most recently, Schmieg served as head coach of a competitive travel soccer team and assistant boys and girls soccer coach at Millbrook High School in Raleigh, N.C. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats lost an exciting, hard-fought regional tournament soccer match to Knoxville Catholic at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday night.
The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats lost in a penalty kick shootout during a regional tournament soccer match with Knoxville Catholic on Tuesday night.
The game was tied 1-1 after 80 minutes of regular time and 30 minutes of extra time at Oak Ridge High School. Knoxville Catholic beat Oak Ridge 4-2 in the best-of-five shootout that followed, coming up with two crucial saves.
Both teams had missed opportunities to score during the game, and Oak Ridge had several shots bounce off the crossbar and posts.
“You’ve got to finish those,” Lady Wildcats soccer coach Tom Gorman said. “Close doesn’t cut it.”
It was a disappointing finish to an exciting, hard-fought game for the Lady Wildcats.
Oak Ridge beat Hardin Valley in the district tournament game last week and finished the season 17-1-3, Gorman said.
Knoxville Catholic goes on to play Farragut on Thursday.
