Clay Defeats Pickett In 7A Championship; Clarkrange Finishes 3rd

by Rusty Ellis

District 7A wrapped up the girls side of their tournament on Monday night, as Clarkrange defeated Red Boiling Springs in the consolation game and Clay County successfully defended their league crown with a 60-51 win over Pickett County.

In the third-place game, it was the Lady Buffaloes of Clarkrange who took down RBS to earn a more favorable region tournament matchup on Friday. The Lady Buffaloes shot the lights out from three early, as Chloe Rogers, Kacey Sells and Addy Stowers each knocked down a pair of threes in the first quarter to give Clarkrange a 20-14 lead heading to the second.

RBS battled back however, as Claire Fleming and Bre Thompson each got rolling on offense to give the Lady Bulldogs multiple leads in the frame. Chloe Powell got a steal with just under 10 seconds remaining in the half, and converted a transition layup to tie the game at 34-all at the half.

Red Boiling Springs appeared poised to run away with the game in the third, as a Bailey Massengille three finished off a 7-0 run to start the quarter and give RBS a 41-34 lead, but Rogers hit three straight three-pointers to power a 17-4 run to close the third and give Clarkrange a 51-45 lead heading to the fourth.

It took about five-and-a-half minutes into the fourth for Clarkrange to pull away, but back-to-back threes from Sells and Rogers put the finishing touches on a third-place finish for the Lady Buffaloes in a 69-60 victory over Red Boiling Springs.

For head coach Lamar Rogers, there was plenty to be excited about regarding how his team played on offense.

“Offensively, we did a good job and we had pretty balanced scoring,” Rogers said. “We hit a bunch of threes, so that helped us out. We did just enough to win, (Red Boiling Springs) is a really hard team to guard…we did a good job of gutting it out and getting the job done.”

As far as what he told his team in the midst of RBS’ 7-0 run, Rogers says he just reiterated that they needed better focus at both ends of the floor.

“We just needed to focus better defensively,” Rogers said. “Chloe Rogers and Kacey Sells did a good job of knocking down some threes for us, and (RBS) did a good job of guarding Mattie Bush…we wanted to play in the championship game, but now the real fun begins in the region tournament.”

And Rogers is spot-on there, because now every game means a little bit more.

“It’s win or go home now, at least until you get to the region championship,” Rogers said. “We played really solid, and we’re pleased with the win.”

Clay County took some big shots from Pickett County early, but a lockdown, defensive second-half is what made the difference in a nine-point win for the Lady Bulldogs.

The Lady Bobcats came out with more energy to start the game, as a quick 6-0 run prompted an early timeout for the Lady Bulldogs. Both teams traded haymakers from there, as the first quarter ended in a 16-14 lead for Clay County.

Pickett County didn’t go away however, as they outscored Clay 12-10 in the second to tie the game at 26-all at halftime, and it remained a two-point game either way for the first half of the third quarter.

Back-to-back baskets by Briley Burchett and Madison Hayes gave the Lady Bulldogs a 38-34 lead with 3:28 left in the third, and this kicked off a 6-1 run to end the quarter with a 44-35 score in favor of Clay County.

From there, Clay kept the Lady Bobcats at arms’ length in the fourth to hold on for their second consecutive District 7A Championship.

Abby Head led the way with 19 points, while Burchett added 16. Callie Reeder paced Pickett with 17 points.

For head coach Matthew Walker, it wasn’t the best defensive showing for his team in his opinion, but he did believe his defense early on gave his offense some time to get rolling.

“Pickett came out and played really well,” Walker said. “They had a great game-plan at both ends of the floor and it took us awhile to figure out how to adjust…our offense finally caught up in the second half and our playmakers made plays.”

Walker says he emphasized confidence at halftime despite some rough shooting numbers.

“I think Briley was 1-5 and Abby Head was 1-6 from three in the first half,” Walker said. “Those girls have shot better than that all season, so I knew they would come around in the second half.”

And above all else, Walker is excited that his team gets to play at home at least one more time.

“It’s always special to play at home,” Walker said. “We’ve got the best fans in the Upper Cumberland, so we’re looking forward to playing another game in front of them.”

The Region 4A Tournament is set to begin on Friday.

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