Weather

Local News

   ___________
 

___________
 
AD RATES
___________
 

National News

The McKenzie girls upended Lexington 57-41 in the consolation round of the District 11AA tournament. The Lady Rebs advance to the Region 6AA tournament 8 p.m. Tuesday when they play Humboldt at Lexington.

The Lady Rebels were stunned in the opening round by Riverside, dropping them to the consolation round. Still, once the tournament had ended, MHS coach Dan Ridley was named 11AA coach of the year.

Kristin Wiggins led McKenzie with 18 points, including an 8-10 night at the free throw line. Julie Smith scored 10 points. Senior Becky Toombs was 5-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and scored 11.

In sum, it was a well-rounded night against a very sound Lexington girls' basketball team.

"I think I'm more pleased with our effort tonight than I've been all year," said Ridley. "Our help side defense was good."

Ridley was jazzed about the play of Smith, Wiggins and Toombs inside.

"When Julie was guarding her, Campbell only had six points," Ridley said of his senior's defensive effort against the 11AA MVP. "Becky and Kristin did a good job on the boards."

Wiggins had seven boards, Toombs six.

McKenzie led 15-11 after one but watched Lexington knot the score late in the second frame at 22. As the half ended, Lexington led 26-25.

Ridley's halftime chat must have gotten the Lady Rebels' attention as they went on an 18-5 run and put the game out of reach. Jasmine McMackins drilled a pair of triples in the stretch and MHS led 44-31. From there, the Lady Tigers never got closer than 11.

"Our defense turned into offense and that was the key," said Ridley. "It really came down to gut-check time and we really stepped up."

Sheena Vigil and Campbell each had 10 for Lexington.
In the semifinals:

RIVERSIDE GIRLS 36, McKENZIE 33 District 11AA semifinals at Lexington - Defensively, the Lady Rebels played pretty well against Riverside, limiting them to 36 total points.
But McKenzie suffered a horrid offensive night, especially in the fourth quarter, as Riverside rallied to upset the top-seeded Lady Rebs.

Riverside took an 8-6 lead in the first quarter, but McKenzie, aided by sharpshooting from Jasmine McMackins, took a six-point, 17-11 lead.

In the third, Lady Rebel Julie Smith drained a three to give McKenzie its largest lead, 28-19.

In the final frame, Riverside outscored McKenzie 15-4 to win 36-33.

Kristin Wiggins had 17 points to lead McKenzie. Smith scored seven. Laura Taylor and Jessica Coleman each had nine points, Brittany Twyman added eight and Kirby Camper scored six.

The loss dropped McKenzie into the consolation round against second-seeded Lexington, who was upset by Camden.
 

Fillies 52-Lady Tigers 25

The championship game found the top seed Fillies facing third seed Hollow Rock-Bruceton, a first for the Lady Tigers in a number of years. Knowing that the Tigers had picked up a championship the previous night, the Lady Tigers wanted to make it two in a row, but the Fillies hit too well to allow for that possibility. Melton came out to score 10 of her first quarter's 12 points before anyone else had a chance to score. With the assistance of Ashlee Lockhart, Brooke Pritchard and Sharri Smith, the Fillies held an 18-6 lead after one period of action. The Lady Tigers, led by Ernicka Willis' six second quarter points, narrowed that margin to 10 by intermission, but the second half definitely belonged to the Fillies who scored 14 in the each of the third and fourth quarters while the Lady Tigers were held to only 11 second half points.

The Fillies will face Jackson Christian School at 6:30 on Tuesday night while the Lady Tigers will face Adamsville at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday night. The regional tournament will be held at the Huntingdon gymnasium.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: HUNTINGDON: Lakeah Lockhart 16, Waneca Melton 14, Ashlee Lockhart 7, Kodia Tharpe 5, Sharri Smith 5, Brooke Pritchard 3, Payten Butler 2. HOLLOW ROCK-BRUCETON: Ernicka Willis 10, Whitney Owens 5, Kathie Doupis 4, Meagen Sturdivant 4, Nikkita Washum 2.
Fillies 56-Lady Red Devils 22

The Fillies drew a first round bye and did not play until Thursday in the 6:30 p.m. game against the Lady Red Devils of Big Sandy. Although they got off to a slow start, leading only 8-2 after one, they picked up the pace in the second quarter to take a 19-6 lead over Big Sandy by intermission as Melton and Tharpe led all scorers with 18 and 10 points respectively. After three, Huntingdon led 32-17 and won the contest 56-22 as all Fillies saw action. Big Sandy faces University School of Jackson on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: HUNTINGDON: Melton 18, Tharpe 10, Pritchard 9, L. Lockhart 7, Butler 5, A. Lockhart 3, Smith 2, Chasity Strayhorn 2. BIG SANDY: Rachel French 6, Bethany Holland 5, Kim Armstrong 5, Kasey Ray 4, Kristyn Schultz 2.
Lady Tigers 78-Lady Jaguars 18

In first round action, the Lady Tigers dominate the Lady Jags for their first victory on their way to the championship round. Whitney Owens, Kathie Doupis and Ernicka Willis led with 17, 15, and 14 points for the Lady Tigers while Danielle Holcer scored 12 for the Lady Jags. Central held a 23-0 advantage after one, led 39-7 at intermission and then led 63-10 after three. All players for both teams saw action.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: HOLLOW ROCK-BRUCETON: Owens 17, Doupis 15, Willis 14, Meagen Sturdivant 8, Kayla Norval 6, Heaven Wilks 6, Heather King 5, Hannah Kee 3, Elise Malacara 2, Katie Huff 2. CARROLL ACADEMY: Holcer 12, Anna Wright 3, Dominic Teague 2, April Cash 1.

Lady Tigers 43-Lady War Eagles 40

In one of the best games in girls action, the Lady Tigers managed to edge the Lady War Eagles in semi-final action last Thursday night. Doupis and Willis led the Lady Tigers with 11 and 16 respectively while Brittany Baker and Jessica Murphy led the Lady War Eagles with 14 and 12 respectively. The game found the Lady Tigers and Lady War Eagles with 10 lead changes throughout the contest and seven ties, the last one at the 1:25 mark of the fourth period when they were tied at 40. The final three points came from a short jump shot by Willis at the 19.2 mark and Doupis was fouled after the Lady War Eagles missed a three-point shot. Doupis then hit the second of two opportunities at the 4.6 mark for the victory.

The Lady War Eagles will face Scotts Hill at 8:00 p.m., Tuesday night.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: HOLLOW ROCK-BRUCETON: Willis 16, Doupis 11, Owens 9, Kee 6, Sturdivant 1. WEST CARROLL: Baker 14, Murphy 12, Velma Carter 8, April Gilliam 4, Tiffany Simmons 2.
Lady Red Devils 54-Lady Rockets 48

In first round action between Clarksburg and Big Sandy, there were five lead changes as the Lady Rockets battled to gain a victory over their district opponent. By the fourth period, Big Sandy managed to hold onto a slim lead and ultimately won the contest. The Lady Red Devils led 16-13 after one, but trailed 27-22 at intermission. By the end of three, Big Sandy again led 36-34 and outscored Clarksburg 18 to 14 in the final stanza. Bethany Holland led all scorers with 22 for the Lady Red Devils while Kasey Ray added 15. Glenna Tucker led the Lady Rockets with 11 and A.J. Lewis and Whitney Epperson added 10 each.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: BIG SANDY: Holland 22, Ray 15, French 6, Armstrong 5, Meagan Fuqua 4, Schultz 2. CLARKSBURG: Tucker 11, Lewis 10, Epperson 10, Crystal Reed 9, Keri Grant 3, Monica Burton 3, Jamie Pritchard 2.

Lady War Eagles 49-Lady Red Devils 45

The Lady War Eagles captured a third place finish with a slim defeat of the host Lady Red Devils in consolation action Saturday night at Big Sandy. Although they hit 19 foul shots, the Lady War Eagles missed 13 other opportunities as the game found Big Sandy leading for most of the 32 minutes of play. There were eight lead changes throughout the game with the Lady War Eagles taking the lead for good at the 2:58 mark when Murphy hit both shots at the charity stripe. Baker and Murphy led the Lady War Eagles with 20 and 13 respectively while Holland led Big Sandy with 24.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: WEST CARROLL: Baker 20, Murphy 13, Gilliam 8, Simmons 8. BIG SANDY: Holland 24, Ray 8, Armstrong 5, Schultz 5, French 3.

At the conclusion of the game, the All District Team and All District Coach were announced. Plaques were presented for play during the regular season. Players were as follows: A.J. Lewis, Whitney Epperson and Glenna Tucker from Clarksburg; Brooke Pritchard, Lakeah Lockhart and Crystal Fuller from Huntingdon, Whitney Owens, Kathie Doupis and Meagen Sturdivant from Hollow Rock-Bruceton, Jessica Murphy and Brittany Baker from West Carroll and Bethany Holland from Big Sandy.

It was probably the best Camden effort of the season.

In the consolation finals of the District 11AA tournament here Saturday night, the Lions found a stiffer challenge from the Rebels than they are usually accustomed.

It took everything the Lions had to hold off a mad rush by the Rebs to win 76-66. The Rebels enter the Region 6AA tournament as the fourth seed from 11AA and will play Bolivar or Jackson-South Side 8:30 Friday night at Lexington in the quarterfinals.
"I'm pretty proud of our guys because we could have folded the tents," said McKenzie coach Larry Joe Smith. "I am disappointed, but not discouraged because we can build from this. We showed a lot of heart and character."

The Rebels fell behind early, but caught up rapidly and closed with in five after one, 19-14. Camden hit a streak in the second frame and took a 40-29 lead into the dressing room.

Smith said he vented a bit at the team during halftime. It showed because the Rebels came back with a vengeance.

Camden opened a 47-29 lead as the third frame began, but McKenzie went on a 16-4 run and narrowed the margin to eight, 53-45. John French got hot and nailed a couple of triples. John Craig Howell also flushed a three, followed by a bucket from Bryan Huffman to cut the lead to eight.

Daniel Duncan and French got busy as the fourth started and the Rebels drew within five, 59-54. But the Lions went back inside and with a much taller front line, it was tough for McKenzie to get much closer.

"We have trouble beating and banging with their big people," said Smith. "Howell did a good job penetrating and dishing and Huffman has been solid the last two weeks. Duncan was solid again."

French worked off double screens to get open for three pointers. He finished with 22 points. "French got hot in the last half."

In all, McKenzie had four players in double figures: French with 22, Howell with 13, Huffman with 11 and Duncan with 10.

"Having four in double figures is a first for us this year and that was good," said Smith. "We made seven at the charity stripe, they make 24 and that was the difference. Still, we played with a lot of heart and character. We're getting better and I was proud of them."

Jarrod Bain led Camden with 24, Brock Martin had 17, Ben Reed added 14 and Brandon Sims scored 12.

In the semifinals:

MILAN 74, McKENZIE 41 District 11AA semifinals at Lexington - There wasn't much to say about Milan's victory over McKenzie. The Bulldogs overmatched the Rebels inside and outside and easily advanced to the district finals.

It's not that the Rebels played poorly; they played well. But Milan has a front line that features a 6-9 center in Justin Cagle.
And the inside-outside game showed up big.

McKenzie trailed 22-14 in the first frame, but the bottom fell out in the second frame. Milan was 7-13 from the floor and took a 43-20 lead. At the half, the Bulldogs held a 43-24 lead.

Milan had a 9-0 run in the third to lead 52-28 and finished the period on top 62-33.

Huffman led MHS with 12. Duncan and French had eight apiece. Ryan Drewry scored six.

Franz Seyerle had 14 to lead Milan. Cagle and Kyle Shannon each had 10.

Advertisements