By Michael Lindsay

 

The upcoming District 7-1A championship games will feature Pickett County and Clay County in both the boys and girls title games following Friday’s semifinal round at Livingston Academy.

 

Girls

Clay County Hits 13 Three-Pointers To Take Down Clarkrange, 61-53

Clay County opened Friday’s action with a 61-53 victory over #3 Clarkrange in the first semifinal game as the Lady Bulldogs hit 13 three-pointers in the victory.

Haylen Garrison led Clay County with 17 points on five three-pointers followed by Ella Eads with 16 and Baylor Walden with 10. Kady Hopkins led Clarkrange with 24 points followed by 12 from Lydia Phillips.

Clarkrange jumped out to a 10-3 lead midway through the first quarter before Clay County stormed back within one point at 13-12 via a Laci Wix three-pointer at the buzzer.

Clay County caught the Lady Buffaloes and took their first lead at 20-17 with 4:44 remaining in the second quarter via a Walden three-pointer. The Lady Bulldogs extended their lead to 7 points by halftime as Walden connected on a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the corner to give Celina a 30-23 lead entering the locker room.

The Lady Bulldogs led by as many as 12 points (40-28) in the third quarter before Clarkrange pulled back within four points (45-41) via a Phillips free throw with 6:46 remaining. Clay County held off Clarkrange from there to win by a 61-53 final margin and advance to the District 7-1A championship game.

 

Lady Bobcats Overcome 14-Point Deficit To Defeat Gordonsville, 70-66

The Class 1A defending state champion Pickett County Lady Bobcats found themselves in a 14-point hole in the first half of Friday’s District 7-1A tournament semifinals against #4 seed Gordonsville, but Pickett County rallied in the second half to defeat the Tigerettes by a 70-66 margin.

Pickett County previously defeated Gordonsville in their final regular-season matchup 95-44 on Feb. 11, 10 days before Friday’s semifinal rematch.

“We shot it awful the first half,” said Pickett County head coach Brent Smith. “We weren’t ready to play and they were; Gordonsville had a really good game plan and executed really well. We came out lethargic, and you can chalk that up to being off over a week. We’re going to get that effort from other teams every time you play.”

Lady Bobcat point guard Zoey Nicholas led her team with 29 points and 5 assists along with 18 points and 7 rebounds from Addy Lowe.

“Zoey was unreal tonight and played really good,” said Smith. “Addy Lowe made some big baskets when they counted.”

Mckenzie Herron led Gordonsville with 14 points followed by Dariana Bell with 11 and Cali Underwood with 10.

A Lowe three-pointer with 3:00 remaining in the first quarter tied the game at 12 points each before Gordonsville outscored Pickett County 10-4 over the final 3 minutes to lead 22-16 after one.

Gordonsville extended their lead in the second quarter to double digits as a Lily Brock three-pointer gave Gordonsville a 33-22 lead with 1:25 remaining in the second period.

The Tigerettes weren’t done there as an Underwood trey gave Gordonsville their largest lead of the first half at 39-25 late in the second quarter. Pickett County tacked on a free throw to trail 39-26 at halftime.

“It was adversity,” said Smith. “We hadn’t been in that kind of game in a while. The last time we were down like that was Thanksgiving. We showed some guts and the heart of a champion and came back. We weren’t ready to play, and maybe that’ll get our attention.”

Pickett County rallied to start the second half as the Lady Bobcats opened the third quarter on an 11-0 run to pull within two points (39-37) midway through the third quarter. Gordonsville pushed back ahead by 6 points before Pickett County hit three straight three-pointers to take a 49-46 lead late in the third quarter.

“We changed up the press a little bit, and that got us rolling,” said Smith. “We started making shots, too. You can do about whatever you want on defense when you’re making shots.”

Gordonsville trailed 53-51 early in the fourth quarter before Pickett County extended their lead to 63-54 with 3 minutes to go. The Tigerettes pulled back within a possession at 68-66 with 14 seconds left, but Emmy Lowe put the game away from the free-throw line to seal her team’s 70-66 semifinal victory.

Up next for Pickett County is a showdown with Clay County in the District 7-1A championship game for the third consecutive season.

“We’ve done this three years now,” said Smith. “They’re much-improved and have continuously got better. Any time you can shoot like they do, they’re going to be a problem. We’re going to have to be a lot better.”

Boys

Clay County Boys Take Down Gordonsville, 66-63; Nolan Adams Drops 31 Points

The Clay County Bulldogs are headed back to the District 7-1A championship game as a 31-point performance from Nolan Adams led the Bulldogs to a 66-63 victory over Gordonsville in the semifinal round.

Cole Eads posted 19 points for the Bulldogs followed by Lance Burchett with 10. Carter Gibson led Gordonsville with 28 points followed by 12 from J Foster and 10 by Brody Sykes.

Clay County jumped out to a 14-7 lead midway through the first quarter before a Foster buzzer-beater pulled Gordonsville within a possession at 14-11.

The Bulldogs extended their lead out to 9 points (22-13) to start the second quarter before Gordonsville again battled back to within 3 at 22-19. Clay County jumped back out by 8 before Gordonsville battled back to a 31-25 deficit at halftime.

Clay County extended their lead to double digits as an Adams three-pointer gave the Bulldogs a 39-27 lead with 5:20 left in the third quarter. Gordonsville caught fire from there as the Tigers outscored Clay County 18-7 to pull within one point (46-45) at the end of the third quarter.

A Gibson three-pointer tied the game at 48-48 to open the fourth quarter. After trading baskets through the first 2:30 of the fourth, a Nolan Adams three-pointer gave Clay County a 59-54 lead with 5:23 to go.

Gordonsville didn’t go away down the stretch as another Gibson three-pointer with 3 seconds left pulled the Tigers within one point at 64-63, but Clay County’s Burchett hit a pair of free throws to ice away a 66-63 victory to advance to the district championship game against Pickett County.

Up next for Clay County is Tuesday’s District 7-1A championship game against Pickett County at 7:30 while Gordonsville will face Clarkrange in the consolation at 6 p.m.

 

Top-seeded Bobcats Cruise To 74-33 Semifinal Victory Over Clarkrange; Jacob Amonett Drops 28 in 3 Quarters

The Pickett County Bobcats took care of business Friday evening as they defeated #4-seed Clarkrange in the District 7-1A semifinal round, 74-33.

Class 1A Mr. Basketball finalist Jacob Amonett led the way for the Bobcats as he scored 28 points in 3 quarters. Freshman Cole Amonett followed with 15 points along with a pair of 8-point performances from Lyric Parris and Eli Reagan. Bryton Swallows led Clarkrange with 18 points.

Pickett County raced out to a 20-14 lead after one quarter. The Bobcats locked in defensively in the second period as they Clarkrange to only 3 points in the frame to take a 36-17 lead into halftime.

The Bobcats put the game on ice in the third quarter as they outscored Clarkrange 23-8 in the frame to take a 59-25 lead after three quarters before winning by a 74-33 final score.

Up next for Pickett County is the District 7-1A championship game against Clay County for the third time in four seasons. Pickett County swept Clay County in the regulars season by an average of 32 points.

The championship game is set for Tuesday at 7:30 at Livingston Academy.