Sports

Lady Colts finish third in MTAC tournament

Written by Submitted Wednesday, 24 February 2010 07:22

Photo by Tina Malham.

The CCHS Lady Colts defeated Daniel 1 Academy, 46-27, to finish third in the Middle Tennessee Athletic Conference championship tournament at Lancaster Christian Academy in Smyrna last Saturday.

Casey Meece lead the scoring with 14pts, and also had 14 rebounds. Leslie Marberry had 9 points, Courtney O'Connor 7, Alison Drumright and Megan Kramm both had 6 points, and Ashley Jackson and Sarah Gillespie both had 2 points.

Bizarre decision mars girls' district championship

Written by John Ferguson Sunday, 21 February 2010 20:44

Presley Greene (14) had a big night for the Patriots Saturday.

An untimely, and perhaps unwarranted, technical foul call with three seconds left gave McEwen a 40-35 victory over Heritage in the District 10-A tournament championship game Saturday night.

The snap decision, called against Patriot coach Eric Roland, awarded the Lady Warriors a virtual forfeit. Leading 38-35, McEwen standout Allison Hobson missed her second of two free throws, a miss that would have given Heritage a chance for a last-second three-pointer to force overtime. Instead, Hobson remained at the line and hit both shots of the technical, putting the game out of reach.

Apart from the ending, the game showcased the strengths of both teams. Heritage, who were blown out by McEwen in both regular season contests, displayed a new-found scrappiness, hitting their first three 3-pointers and racing to an early 8-1 lead. McEwen, who has rarely trailed this season, showed resilience and composure as they clawed their way back into the contest after trailing 22-11 at halftime.

The Lady Patriots, whose three seniors played well for a second straight night, once again got help from an unexpected source - role-player Presley Greene hit two first-half three-pointers, and played tough on both ends of the floor. Shelby Ray played bravely, continuing to play after hurting her knee in the third quarter when she was shoved from behind on a fast break. Taylor Traughber played aggressively again inside, and Kimi Dorris contributed on both ends despite being held to just five points.

Heritage once again struggled against the physical McEwen full-court pressure, but unlike the regular-season contests, the Pats managed to find a way to stay close. After weathering a 9-0 McEwen run that cut the lead to 28-27 early in the fourth quarter, Heritage stood toe-to-toe with the district champs, swapping baskets until the final minute. Down 37-35 with :18 left, Shelby Ray's runner in the paint went in-and-out, setting up the bizarre ending.

Heritage will host a regional first-round game Friday night at 7:00. The Heritage boys, who lost against East Robertson in the third place game, will travel Saturday night for a 7:00 pm game. Both opponents will be determined Monday night.

HERITAGE (35) - Ray 13, Traughber 9, Greene 6, Dorris 5, Cotham 2

MCEWEN (40) - Hobson 15, Smith 7, Baker 6, Young 6, Karbowiack 2, Hall 2, Long 2

Click to open image! Click to open image!

Click to open image!

Five Patriots named to 10-A All-Tourney Team

Written by John Ferguson Sunday, 21 February 2010 20:29

Three girls and two boys from Heritage were named to the District 10-A All-Tournament Team Saturday night.

Girls

Erica Casey East Robertson High School

Kaleigh Pearce East Robertson High School

Leeann Baggett Houston County High School

Chelsea Spurgeon Houston County High School

Shelby Ray White House Heritage High School

Kim Dorris White House Heritage High School

Taylor Traughber White House Heritage High School

Allison Hobson McEwen High School

Taylor Long McEwen High School

Lindsey Baker McEwen High School

Player of the Year – Samantha Smith McEwen High School

Coach of the Year – Sam Young Houston County High School

Boys

Daniel Ray White House Heritage High School

Jordan Bedwell White House Heritage High School

David Woodard East Robertson High School

Phillip Stratton East Robertson High School

Eli Spivey McEwen High School

Garrett Mullinicks McEwen High School

Tanner Wilson McEwen High School

Travis Russell Clarksville Academy

Malcolm Smith Clarksville Academy

Martin Smith Clarksville Academy

Player of the Year – Malcolm Smith Clarksville Academy

Coach of the Year – Josh Smith Clarksville Academy

Lady Pats advance to finals; boys lose a squeaker

Written by John Ferguson Saturday, 20 February 2010 15:46

Shelby Ray laughs after missing a tough over-the-shoulder catch late in the game - maybe her only mistake of the night.

Buoyed by their first-round comeback victory Wednesday night, the Lady Patriots turned in perhaps their finest team performance of the season, manhandling second-seed Houston County Friday night, 58-45, to advance to the District 10-A tournament finals.

Four Patriots scored in double-digits. The bench provided both scoring and quality minutes. Taylor Traughber pulled 19 rebounds and had at least 5 blocks. Kimi Dorris hit a back-breaking three pointer late in the third period.

And then there's Shelby Ray, who continued her strong postseason with a game-high 19 points, tough defensive play, and enough court presence to merit tourney MVP consideration.

"I think this was probably our best team effort," said coach Eric Rowland, whose work this season has to bring Coach of the Year attention. "Taylor got going, our bench came up big, and of course there's Shelby."

Heritage started slowly yet again against the Lady Irish, but erased the 15-9 first quarter deficit with a 10-0 run, punctuated with a Ray drive and dish to Traughber for the lead at 16-15, and capped by a Ray three from the right wing. The Patriots outscored their opponents 14-1 in the second period, mostly because of their dominance down low.

Houston County made a run of their own to open the third period, scoring 9 unanswered to tie the game at 25-25. However, with 1:28 left in the quarter, Heritage used a timeout to set up Dorris in the left corner. She buried the three-pointer, giving the Pats a 32-27 lead and the momentum for good.

Shelby Cotham came to life offensively for Heritage, providing 11 needed bench points down low, and Heritage delivered from the free-throw line, hitting 16 of 18 in the final period to preserve the victory.

The Lady Patriots now face McEwen in Saturday's final - a team that walloped Heritage in the regular-season finale, but will likely find a sterner test in the tournament version of the Pats.

HERITAGE (58) - Ray 19, Dorris 14, Cotham 11, Traughber 10, Greene 2, Atwood 2

HOUSTON COUNTY (45) - Spurgeon 15, Baggett 11, Torres 5, Tolby 5, Larose 3, Deason 3, Nichols 2, Reynolds 1

Click to open image! Click to open image!

Click to open image!

Boys - Heritage 28, McEwen 30

Heritage and McEwen staged another classic defensive battle Friday night - once again, it came down to the final possession, and once again, Heritage came up just short, falling 30-28.

Heritage actually had two chances to push back defeat. Down two, sophomore Jordan Bedwell's three-point attempt out of a timeout went in-and-out, and the Warriors grabbed the rebound. After McEwen missed the front end of a 1+1 with seconds left, Devin Harper pushed the ball up the floor and found John Moore under the basket. The junior made the layup, but officials ruled that the shot was not in time.

Both teams struggled to get on track offensively, with only six points total scored in the third period.

Heritage plays East Robertson Saturday at 5:30 in the third place game.

MCEWEN (30) - Wilson 8, Spivey 6, Andrews 4, Mullinch 4, Wilson 3, Hooper 3, Mullinch 2

HERITAGE (28) - Ray 9, Moore 8, Kirby 6, Bedwell 5

False start, furious finish - Lady Devil rally falls short

Written by John Ferguson Friday, 19 February 2010 06:36

Cougar guard Teddi London (14) gave the Blue Devils fits in the first half.

If we could only get a do-over for those first six minutes ...

The Lady Blue Devils played one of their best defensive halves Thursday night, but could not overcome one of their worst starts of the year, and fell to Goodpasture 57-51 in the opening round of the District 9-AA tournament.

Down 38-19 at halftime after trailing by as many as 25, White House turned the tables on the Lady Cougars, using high defensive pressure to shut down the Goodpasture offense. The Cougars made only one shot from the field in the third quarter, and none in the fourth, but hit 17 of 27 second-half free throws to hang on for the win.

White House outscored Goodpasture 32-13 in the second half, getting as close as five points when Katelyn Armstrong hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 3:25 remaining, but could not close the gap late in the game, as the Devil shooting cooled in the final minutes.

Goodpasture capitalized in the first quarter on White House's inability to handle the Cougar press, and coupled torrid shooting (the Cougars hit 9 of their first 10 shots) with 10 White House turnovers to race to an 18-2 lead in the first six minutes. Cougar guard Teddi London was white-hot in the first half, making her first seven shots en route to her game-high 22 points.

Armstrong led White House with 15 points, 10 in the fourth quarter, and Alexia Guidicy continued her strong late-season play with 9 points. White House also got a big lift from the bench in the second half - LaTonya Zirker's defensive energy helped slow down London, and freshman Brooke Thompson played well on both ends of the floor.

WHITE HOUSE (51) - Armstrong 15, Guidicy 9, Thompson 5, Zirker 5, Fogle 4, Chatman 4, Wall 3, Stamps 2, Trobaugh 2, Parks 2

GOODPASTURE (57) - London 22, Wisemin 8, Robinson 8, Hassell 6, Romine 2, Gregory 2

Click to open image! Click to open image!

Click to open image!

What are you looking for?

Sports

Lady Colts finish third in MTAC tournament

Bizarre decision mars girls' district championship

Five Patriots named to 10-A All-Tourney Team

Lady Pats advance to finals; boys lose a squeaker

False start, furious finish - Lady Devil rally falls short

More Articles...