Lady Bears turn back gritty Wildcats

By Andy Reed

andy.reed@lebanondemocrat.com

MT. JULIET — Mt. Juliet overcame foul trouble and a gritty effort by Wilson Central as big girls Sally McCabe and Ronjanae DeGray helped close out a 57-49 victory Friday night.

The Lady Bears led 20-7 early in the second quarter. But McCabe and point guard Tyia Waller each picked up their third fouls and Central sank 7 of 10 free throws in the period to get back in the game.

"That first half got to be a free-throw shooting contest," Mt. Juliet coach Chris Fryer said. "They shoot free throws pretty well.

"We had some really silly fouls and did some dumb stuff on the defensive end. It stopped the clock and made the game drag out a little bit."

Forward Rachel Bean led Wilson Central with 13 points before she collapsed in the lane with a knee injury just past the midway mark of the third quarter and did not return.

After she went out, center Dominique St. Louis and then Autumn Hopkins scored inside to bring Central within 36-33 and 38-35, respectively.

"We got off to a bad start," said Central coach Bud Brandon. "We were at a turning point in the game, we were getting into some type of rhythm with our offense, and then Rachel goes down."

But DeGray scored back-to-back baskets on her way to 19 points while McCabe, playing with four fouls, collected 11 of her 23 in the fourth quarter, during which she sank all seven of her free throws as Mt. Juliet improved to 19-7 for the season and a final 12-2 in District 9-AAA.

"That's been the story for us this season," Fryer said. "Those two girls have gotten better as the year's gone on and they're playing well together with each other. Our guards are doing a good job of getting them the basketball and giving us the opportunity to win."

"We had our opportunities," Brandon said. "But it all comes down to taking care of the basketball and fundamental things.

"Our girls rallied around the injury and they played hard."

Raeyana DeGray scored six points, Waller four, Savannah Sanders a three-pointer and Karly Dyer two for Mt. Juliet.

Hopkins hit two fourth-quarter three-pointers as she and St. Louis each scored eight second-half points for the Lady Wildcats while Rachel Burkett buried a pair of threes on her way to seven. Sydney Comer scored six points, Kendall Spray four and Hailey Averitt a three as Central slipped to a final 12-12 for the season and 8-6 in the district, believed to be good for fourth place and a first-round home game, probably against Station Camp, in the league tournament at 7 p.m. next Thursday. The league meeting will be held Monday to finalize the tourney.

Mt. Juliet had already clinched the top seed in the district and will host Portland in the tournament opener next Thursday after the Lady Bears close their regular season at 6:30 p.m. Monday when nationally-ranked Riverdale comes to town.

"I'm really proud of these girls," Fryer said. "This has been a tough season for them. We graduated a lot of kids last year and it was just Sally coming back with any experience at all. We've had a great regular season. But now it's getting close to tournament time and we got to be playing our best and see how far we can go."

Fox's four threes leads Lebanon to Senior Night win

Lebanon celebrated Senior Night with a 51-28 pounding of Portland on Friday night at Campbell Brandon Gym/Hester Gibbs Court.

The Devilettes led 16-7 following the first quarter, 28-15 at halftime and 39-21 through three periods as they ended a 14-12 regular season and 9-5 in District 9-AAA, expected to be good for third place and a first-round home game at 7 p.m. Friday in the league tournament with Hendersonville the expected opponent. The district meeting will be held Monday to finalize the brackets.

Senior Julia Fox, bound for Murray State, led Lebanon with 14 points, including four three-pointers. Madison Sloan and Abby Wright each added eight points, Bailey Sells seven, Scottlyn Elie six, Morgan Bruce four, Kelsey Yarbrough two and Kristen Dedman and Kendra Brown a free throw apiece.

No one scored in double figures for Portland.

Tigerettes fall to fourth following OT loss

WATERTOWN — With a Region 4-A tournament berth on the line, Trousdale County and Watertown battled tooth and nail all the way into overtime where the Lady Jackets spoiled the Tigerettes' Senior NIght with a 72-67 win Friday night.

The loss dropped Watertown to 12-15 for the season and a final 2-6 in District 8-A, forcing the Tigerettes into a 6 p.m. elimination game Tuesday against Red Boiling Springs at Trousdale County. The Lady Jackets [11-15, 3-5] won a bye into next Thursday's semifinal against No. 2 seed Friendship Christian in Hartsville.

Trousdale tore away to a 14-4 first-quarter getaway before Watertown used a 22-15 second to pull within 29-26 by halftime. The Tigerettes held a 44-43 edge going into the fourth before the teams finished regulation in a 65-65 draw.

Bailey Howell poured in 28 points for Trousdale while Hannah Gregory scored 16 and Elizabeth Stewart 14.

Alicia Jennings led Watertown with 21 points while lone senior Kirstin Vantrease fired in four three-pointers on her way to 14. Jasmine High had 10 points while Hannah Zackary hit two triples en route to eight, Jenna Haun a three and Katie Dalton and Shelby Mofield two apiece.

Watertown will be back on the floor at 3 p.m. today for a regular season-ending makeup matinee at home with Pickett County.

Jones passes 1,000 points to lead Lady Commanders past Pickett

With the tournaments and a full senior season to be played, Friendship Christian junior center Deja Jones went over the 1,000-point mark for her career to lead the Lady Commanders to a regular season-ending 59-42 win over visiting Pickett County on Friday night at the Bay Family Sportsplex.

Jones threw in 30 points from inside as Friendship overcame an 8-6 first-quarter deficit to go up 23-16 by halftime and 36-29 going into the fourth.

Senior forward Kaitlyn Teeter, who needs a district semifinal win next Thursday to play again in the Sportsplex, threw in 13 points while Courtney Petty added eight, Aubrey Hawks five, Kristian Watkins two and Brianna Stovall a free throw as the Lady Commanders climbed to a final 16-7 regular-season mark.

Jayna Ferrell tossed in 12 points and Brinna Bowman and Anna Earl 10 each for the Lady Bobcats, who will be back in Wilson County this afternoon for matinee makeup game at Watertown.

Friendship, the No. 2 seed in the district tournament, will take on Trousdale County next Thursday in the semis on the Lady Jackets' floor in Hartsville with the winner getting a first-round Region 4-A tourney contest the following week.

MJCA falls to Knoxville Webb, faces DCA today

KNOXVILLE — Mt. Juliet Christian was little match for top-seeded Webb on the Spartans' floor as the Lady Saints went down 57-20 Friday afternoon in the Division II District 1-A semifinals.

But the Lady Saints will play on with an 11-14 record today in an 11 a.m. CST third-place game against Donelson Christian.

Webb led 9-2 following the first quarter, 30-9 at halftime and 44-14 going into the fourth.

No one scored in double figures for Webb as 11 Spartans scored.

Lauren Wankel tossed in 10 points, Lynnze Ethridge eight and Liz Russ two for Mt. Juliet Christian.