By Michael Lindsay

Girls

Tennessee’s two top-ranked Class 3A girls basketball teams squared off in Crossville Tuesday as the #2-ranked Stone Memorial Lady Panthers (20-3, 5-1) scored a season-high 88 points en route to an 88-65 victory over #1-ranked White County (23-4, 4-2).

“It speaks to the character and competitive spirit of our kids,” said Stone Memorial Lady Panther head coach Mike Buck. “It’s a really good group. In this league, night in night out you’re going to face the best competition in Tennessee.

“This group hasn’t been beaten the way we were down in Sparta,” added Buck. “We didn’t do anything offensively, and they obviously had a lot to do with that. We wanted to come out and make a statement offensively.”

Freshman guard Lexi Clark led the way as she poured in 34 points including 4 three-pointers and 10-11 from the free-throw line. Senior Ashley Whittenburg tacked on 19 points followed by 11 from Ella Jane May.

“She’s been like that,” Buck said of Clark. “She’s averaging over 21 points a game in our 6 district games in the toughest league out there. She steps up in those moments; she’s not afraid of anything and she knows that we’ve all got her back. 34 points on the #1 team in the state is a statement in itself, you know? So super proud of her.”

Stone Memorial was hot from the opening tip as the Lady Panthers scored 30 points in the first quarter to take a 30-16 lead. The offense kept rolling in the second quarter as they led 44-36 at halftime.

The Lady Panthers picked up where they left off after halftime as they scored 23 points in the third quarter to lead 67-51 entering the fourth, where they dropped another 21 points to win by an 88-65 final score.

Stone Memorial moves into sole possession of first place in District 7-3A at 5-1 in district action followed by Upperman and White County tied in second at 4-2. Cumberland County is currently fourth at 1-4 followed by Livingston in fifth at 0-5.

Up next for the Lady Panthers is a road trip to non-district foe Clarkrange on Saturday while White County returns to Crossville on Friday to face Cumberland County.

Boys

Another TSWA Class 3A top-10 ranked matchup followed in boys action as #8 Stone Memorial (14-7, 5-1) cruised to a 70-50 victory over #9 White County (15-7, 1-5).

Three Panthers scored in double figures led by 17 points each from Briggs Lowe and Evin Moseley followed by 16 by Jack Cordell.

Stone Memorial opened the game on a 12-0 run before Sparta reeled off a 12-2 run to close the opening quarter. The Panthers entered the second quarter leading 14-12, where a Moseley three-pointer with 2:28 left in the first half gave his team a 34-24 advantage. The Panthers led by as many as 11 points in the first half before entering the locker room ahead 39-30.

Stone Memorial took control in the second half as they led by 16 points (54-38) midway through the third quarter before entering the fourth up 54-43. Stone Memorial held off the Warriors from there as they went on to win by a 70-50 final score.

The Panthers are in sole possession of second place in District 7-3A at 5-1 behind Upperman in solo first at 6-0. Cumberland County is third at 2-3 in district play followed by White County at 1-5 and Livingston at 0-5.

Up next for the Panthers is a road trip to non-district foe Clarkrange on Saturday while White County returns to Crossville on Friday to face Cumberland County.