By Michael Lindsay

Girls

The Cookeville Lady Cavaliers won their 40th consecutive home game Saturday night, but it wasn’t without drama as the Lady Cavaliers overcame a 13-point deficit to defeat the defending Class 1A state champion Pickett County Lady Bobcats, 51-46.

“Charlie Roby, Cara Lee Gilbert and Kendyll McCloud each had two fouls in the first half,” said Cookeville head coach Jamie Gillies. “We had to change a little bit of what we were doing and it ended up working, so we just went with it.”

Allie Gillies led the Lady Cavs with 14 points and 4 rebounds followed by Cara Lee Gilbert with 13 points and Macy Hudson with 9. Emmy Lowe led Pickett County with 22 points followed by Zoey Nicholas with 10.

“Emmy Lowe was killing us getting to the rim,” said Gillies. “We had to throw two at her to get the ball out of her hands. Allie had some big plays in the first half and Cara Lee in the second half. We just had to chip away and get it close to even in the fourth quarter.”

Pickett County jumped out to an 11-6 advantage midway through the first quarter before Cookeville closed the gap to 13-9 via a McCloud layup to end the opening frame.

Cookeville continued their run early in the second quarter as a Hudson three-pointer gave the Lady Cavs a 14-13 lead with 7:21 remaining until halftime.

Pickett County took control from there and answered with a 14-0 run over the next 3:30 to take a 27-14 lead with 4:07 remaining in the second quarter. Cookeville battled back within single digits by halftime as they entered the locker room trailing Pickett County 27-19.

The Lady Cavaliers pulled within one possession (31-29) midway through the third quarter via a Gilbert transition basket, but the Lady Bobcats held their lead throughout the third quarter as they entered the fourth quarter with a 40-37 advantage.

Pickett County scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to go up 42-37, but Cookeville responded as they caught Pickett County with 4:51 remaining via Roby corner three-pointer to give the Lady Cavaliers a 44-42 lead.

The Lady Bobcats tied the game again at 44 before Cookeville retook their lead and held it down the stretch. A pair of free throws by Hudson with 37.1 seconds remaining put the game away as Cookeville won by a 51-46 final score.

Cookeville improves to 10-3 overall while Pickett County falls to 12-3. Cookeville is scheduled to travel to Hendersonville (7-5) on Tuesday while Pickett County hosts Clay County (4-8) in their District 7-1A opener on Friday.

Boys

The Pickett County Bobcats got back in the win column Saturday night as they earned a 72-63 victory at Cookeville.

Saturday’s win came less than 24 hours after a narrow loss at home to Eagleville, 74-71.

“I felt before the game that this was a defining moment for our team,” said Pickett County head coach Joseph Amonett. “I know that’s a lot of pressure for the middle of the season, but I thought we responded the best we have in two years. I couldn’t be happier with the guys.”

Pickett County point guard Jacob Amonett led the way with 28 points for the Bobcats followed by 13 points each from Eli Reagan and Cole Amonett. Cookeville was led by 33 points from Jaren Davis and 14 points off the bench by Jalen Denk.

“Eli has had the two best games of his career in these two,” said coach Amonett. “He’s helping us get started and stretching the defense. Defensively, he’s taken a huge step.”

After Cookeville opened with the game’s first 5 points, Regan answered with back-to-back and-ones to tie the contest at 5-5 midway through the first period. Both offenses kept going from there as the Bobcats held an 18-14 lead entering the second quarter.

Pickett County held a 20-14 lead early in the second quarter and led 35-31 entering the locker room at halftime.

Cookeville cut their deficit to one point (39-38) early in the third quarter before the Bobcats answered with a 10-1 run over the ensuing 4:15 to take a 49-40 lead late in the third quarter.

Pickett County extended their advantage to double digits (57-47) via an Amonett layup with 5:23 remaining. Cookeville didn’t go away quietly as the Cavaliers pulled within 3 points (63-60) via a Davis three-pointer with 2:15 remaining, but got no closer as the Bobcats held them off from there to win by a 72-63 final score.

“I knew if we could get to the free throw line, we would be fine,” said coach Amonett. “It took us a while to get there, but we made free throws and that’s the reason we won.”

Cookeville falls to 7-6 overall and travels to Hendersonville (7-6) on Tuesday while Pickett County improves to 10-5 and hosts Clay County (8-2) next Friday to open District 7-1A play.