McKenzie defeated host Camden Friday night 58-53 in overtime to secure the top spot.

With that, the Lady Rebs earn the top seed in the 11AA tournament which takes place in a few weeks at Lexington.

It was a courageous victory for the Lady Rebels, who were without the services of junior Renee Crawley, the team's leading scorer and rebounder. She has missed the last four games with an ankle injury.

"I'm proud of the kids," said McKenzie coach Dan Ridley. "They kids have stepped up and played well. I'm proud of them."

McKenzie found itself down by seven at the half, 23-16 and six after three, 35-29. In fact, the Lady Rebels were behind by nine twice in the second half and were in a three-point rut with 40 seconds to play.

Freshman Anna Trull stepped up with a big shot as time wound down. She scored and drew the foul. Trull converted the three-point play. After a frenzied final 10 seconds, the game went into overtime.

In the extra session, McKenzie went to the line seven times and hit six free throws and Trull had half of the team's 12 overtime points.

The frosh finished with 23 points to lead the Lady Rebels.
"This is a big win for us because Camden was picked to win the district and now they are fourth," Ridley said. "We basically have an all-new team and we had to go down there with out Renee. I was concerned."

But the Lady Rebels have played very well without Crawley, who may be back late this week.

"We are 3-1 without her right now," said Ridley. "These kids could have quit, but they've stepped up and played very well."

He pointed out that reserves Brooke Cole and Courtney Wiggins had 14 and 13 points respectively during recent action.

"It's everybody," Ridley said. "We've stepped up and played well."
Camden was without the services of Karen Farmer, who suffered a knee injury recently. That left the Lady Lions depleted in the guard spot, which played a role in their demise.

"In the fourth quarter and overtime, we pressed them," said Ridley. "They had a lot of turnovers and I think that helped turn it for us."

McKenzie was 17-21 from the free throw line.

"That's something we stress everyday," said Ridley of his team's free throw prowess. "We always thought that it might help us win some games and it turned out that it did."

Senior Hope Wyder had 19 points, Sarah Hartz scored seven, Mallory Brandon tossed in five and Brittany Russell had four.

Savannah Cox had 18, Carmen Medina scored 17 and Anna Martin threw in 10 to lead Camden.

The Lady Rebels improve to 14-6 overall and 6-1 against 11AA teams.

The Fillies knocked off previously No. 1-rated Gleason 27-25 in an overtime thriller Friday night. It was Gleason's second overtime loss of the week. The Lady Bulldogs suffered a 61-59 setback at South Fulton.

While Gleason has been accustomed to shouldering the mantle of No. 1 (the Lady Bulldogs achieved their first No. 1 AP billing in 1996 and has won two state titles and a Clas A runner-up globe since 1992), this is a new experience for the Fillies, who themselves were state semifinalists and a minute away from knocking out the eventual state champion Trenton last year.

Despite the hoopla, Huntingdon coach Mike Henson is taking it all in stride and got some good advice from a guy who knows a little something about being No. 1: Huntingdon football coach Mike Mansfield, whose Mustangs recently captured the Class 2A state football crown.

"Coach Mansfield said somebody's got to be No. 1, why not us?" Henson said.

But the veteran Fillies coach is keeping things in proper perspective.

"You don't get an automatic bid for being No. 1," he said. "But it's good because it gets you statewide recognition and people realize what you have accomplished."

Gleason coach Randy Frazier is used to seeing and, in turn, ignoring the state rankings.

"Until they invite you up to the state tournament by your rankings, they don't mean anything," Frazier said. "It's good recognition for your team and town, but that's about it."
Henson agreed with that assessment.

"I think our kids realize and know what it means and what it doesn't mean," said the Fillies' coach. "Until we get that automatic berth, it doesn't have a whole lot of meaning."

NO. 1 VS. NO. 2: Gleason won state titles in 1992 and in 1999 and sandwiched in a state runner-up trophy in 1993. In addition, the Lady Bulldogs went to state six straight years from 1990 to 1995.

A time or two, Gleason has been in the top tier of the state rankings and had to go up against a No. 1 or No. 2 team a few times at Dudley Sanders Gymnasium.

"This (No. 1 vs. No. 2) has happened before," Frazier said. "I know it has happened at least two times when we played Bradford."

Friday night's game with Huntingdon had all the earmarks of those classic Gleason-Bradford battles of the late 1980s and 1990s. The gym was packed and loud and the atmosphere was reminiscent of a substate clash or a contest with the Lady Red Devils.

"We had a good crowd," said Frazier.

MEDIA FRENZY: The matchup between the top two Class A teams in the state drew the look of many different media outlets, as one may imagine.

Four newspapers (McKenzie Banner, Dresden Enterprise, Jackson Sun and Weakley Co. Press) and WCMT radio were on hand to cover the game.

The first No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle in Weakley Co. girls' basketball history occurred in 1991 when No. 1 Bradford visited No. 2 Dresden. Dresden won that game in overtime, but later lost to the Lady Red Devils in the Region 7A semifinals at Bethel College.
TOP HEAVY: West Tennessee has a lot of ratings-worthy Class A teams. Three other West Tennessee teams grace the Top 10 list: No. 3 Perry County; No. 5 Trenton; No. 9 USJ.

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• McKenzie Tops Bruceton
• Bethel Captures Two Big Wins
• MMS Cheerleaders Place in State