Weary Lady Bears persevere to win tourney

NASHVILLE — Playing for the fourth straight day, Mt. Juliet persevered against an inspired McGavock team in the finals of the Nashville Civitan Christmas Tournament, beating the Lady Raiders on their home floor 47-29 Friday.
The Lady Bears led 14-8 following the first quarter, 24-16 at halftime and 38-21 through three periods as they improved to 15-1.
Jordan Nixon, Mt. Juliet's 5-9 center, scored 17 against the bigger Lady Raiders, who have three girls over six feet tall, including 6-3 Florida-signee Ndidi Madu. Guard Rebecca Sharpe tossed in 12.
"They're very big and very athletic," Fryer said after the Lady Bears beat the Lady Raiders for the third time this season. "We were very undersized. It was a little sluggish. We were pretty sharp to start the game. But McGavock (playing its third game of the week and coming off an upset of Hillsboro) was pretty focused.
"We really showed some character winning the game and winning with defense. We didn't hit the basket very well."
K.C. VanAtta tossed in two three-pointers on her way to eight points for Mt. Juliet while Miaca Bowman finished with four and Macie Gleaves and Heather Miller three each.
"Offensively, after playing four days in a row, we didn't get up and down the floor very well," said Fryer, who plans to use the upcoming New Year's break to rest the Lady Bears for their return to District 9-AAA action at 6:30 p.m. next Friday at Beech.

Christopher lifts Lady Wildcats past Briarcrest in second half
GREENEVILLE — With Wilson Central trailing by 11 at the end of a desultory first half Friday against Briarcrest, Coach Bud Brandon mentioned the possibility of the Lady Wildcats doing some running following the game.
Jessyca Christopher apparently preferred shooting to running.
The sophomore guard sank six three-pointers in the third quarter, the last of which was a reverse spin from over 30 feet which put Central in front at the buzzer, sparking the Lady Wildcats to a 58-55 win over the Division II power in the fifth-place bracket of the Greene County Ladies Classic at Hal Henard Gym.
"She lifted us and when you hit some threes, it makes you want to play defense, said Brandon, whose 14-1 Lady Wildcats will face host Greeneville at 1 p.m. CST today in the fifth-place game. "On the bus she said she didn't want to run.
"We were a completely different team the last half."
Briarcrest led 11-7 following the first quarter and 27-16 at halftime as Central shot just 25 percent from the floor.
"The first half, we stunk it up," Brandon said. "Our desire wasn't there. We didn't play hard. We couldn't get in the flow of the game. Everything went wrong.
"At halftime, we had some soul searching."
Christopher finished with 20 points. Her buzzer-beating three, reminiscent of former guard Cameryn Calhoun's three halfcourt buzzer beaters during last year's tournament run to the Class AAA championship, lifted the Lady Wildcats to a 42-40 lead as Central shot 57 percent in the second half.
Tierney Jenkins was her usual force in the post with 19 points, including 9-of-11 from the free-throw line, and a Lady Wildcat-leading 13 rebounds. Jasmine Hassell scored six, Sara Williams four and Chelsea Burroughs, Lauren Farmer and Lauren Wasson a three-pointer apiece.
Andrea Neil threw in three triples to lead Briarcrest with 17 points while fellow wing Caitlin House had 14.
Central, which threw in 13 of 16 free throws for the game, outscored Briarcrest 14-8 in the paint while the Lady Saints scored 24 points off Lady Wildcat turnovers.

Devilettes drop low-scoring decision in "blah" game
SMYRNA — Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And Lebanon coach Darian Brown was not admiring his team's 33-29 loss to Marshall County in the Smyrna Tournament on Friday.
It was close throughout with Marshall County led 8-6 following the first quarter and 22-21 going into the fourth. Lebanon was ahead 14-13 at halftime as the Devilettes dropped to 6-8.
"It was ugly, not a pretty game whatsoever," Brown said. "There wasn't a flow to it. There was no energy out there. Both teams were blah.
"Playing at 1 o'clock, playing the third game in three days, 25-30 people in the gym. It (can) make it difficult to get into the flow of the game."
Jessica McQueen tossed in 12 points from the post for Marshall County.
Jasmin Brooks, Ebony Marshall and Icelyn Elie scored six points apiece for Lebanon while Crystal Howse finished with four and London Elie and Kelsey Blackburn three apiece.
Marshall County wasn't participating in the tournament, playing just a couple of games instead. Lebanon will return to the bracket portion of the event today when the Devilettes face Dickson County at 1 p.m. in the fifth-place game.

Tigerette offense gears up to outscore Cascade
WARTRACE — With Cascade focusing on center Miaushia Thompson, Sarah Reeder and Brittnee Sells went to work from outside Friday night as Watertown outscored host Cascade 60-55 in the Bedford County Classic.
Reeder scored 17 points and Sells 14 as both threw in three 3-pointers. Despite the attention, Thompson tossed in 16 of her 18 from the post in the second half as Watertown improved to 9-4.
"They really focused on taking Miaushia out of the game in the first half," Watertown coach Jeff Luttrell said. "We shot the ball well from outside. We got some transition buckets. It was a good offensive game for us."
Watertown overcame a 13-12 first-quarter deficit to lead 28-24 by halftime. The Tigerettes widened the margin to 46-35 through three periods.
Laura Clark connected for a trey as she, Carly Smith and Amanda Montgomery each threw in three points while Sarah Page pitched in two for the Tigerettes.
Millie Carter tossed in two triples on her way to 17 points for Cascade while Shelby Nelson knocked down three 3s en route to 15. Tiffany Gibbs had 12.
Watertown will travel to Clarkrange on Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff.

Friendship falls to Mars Hill's pressure
JACKSON — Mars Hill's girls used a press to keep Friendship Christian under control Friday as the Lady Panthers pounced to a 55-42 win in the semifinals of the Jackson Christian Tournament.
The Lady Panthers led 18-7 following the first quarter and 27-19 at halftime. The Lady Commanders climbed to within five early in the third before Mars Hill (Ala.) opened a 47-28 margin going into the fourth as Friendship fell to 4-4 for the season.
"They put pressure and we didn't handle it," said Friendship coach Deanna Teeter, whose Lady Commanders will face Middle Tennessee Christian in the third-place game at 4 p.m. today.
Guard Sarah Bailey scored 17 points for Mars Hill.
Katy Vaughan threw in 13 points and fellow post Lindsey Farmer 11 for Friendship. Carly Warmath notched nine points, Jessi Couch seven and Jody Leftwich two.