Story and photos by Kailee Means:
Clay County split its basketball doubleheader against Clinton County on Tuesday night.
The Clay County Lady Bulldogs defeated Clinton County 66-46.
The Lady Bulldogs had an outstanding performance, even with two of their biggest producers out of the lineup. Sophomore Bella Ashlock and junior Briley Burchett are currently out due to injuries, but that did not stop the Lady Bulldog momentum as they outscored Clinton County 33-18 in the first half and 31-28 in the second half.
“They played well,” said Clay County head coach Matt Walker. “A lot of girls had to step up and play different roles than they are used to and I thought we responded really well.”
For the Lady Bulldogs, junior Abby Head and sophomore Madison Hayes led with 15 points, junior Isabella Hale had 14 points, senior Zoe Hayes had 6 points, sophomore Halle Bufford 6 points, senior Cherokee Upton had 6 points, and senior Eliza Jenkins had 3 points.
The Lady Bulldogs will play their first district game at 6 p.m. Friday night at Clarkrange.
“We’ve just got to keep the momentum rolling,” said Walker. “Friday night at Clarkange, that is a different beast so we will address that tomorrow.”
The Clay County Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the season to Clinton County 74-58.
The Bulldogs trailed the entire game as Clinton County outscored them 40-24 in the first half and both teams scored 34 points each in the second half.
“We get everyone’s best game now,” said Clay County head coach Rob Edwards. “We have for a long time but especially after last season. Clinton came out tonight and was just more physical than us and out hustled us. They shot 60% from free point range so there are a lot of things we have to get better at.”
For the Bulldogs, senior Grant Strong led with 38 points, senior Jeff Spivey had 7 points, junior Keaton Arms had 4 points, junior John Hamilton had 4 points, junior Jimmy Burchett had 3 points and junior Bryce Bailey had 2 points.
The Bulldogs will play their first district matchup at 6 p.m. Friday night at Clarkange.
“Clarkrange plays really really hard,” said Edwards. “They are going to go after every rebound, every loose ball, and we have to match their intensity which is what we did not do tonight. We did not come out and match the intensity of Clinton and if we don’t do that Friday we will be in trouble.”
