Cloudland advances to District 1A Championship; Lady Rangers defeated by North Greene
Published 4:24 pm Saturday, February 17, 2024
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Cloudland Head Coach Matt Birchfield presents Izabella Christman (32) with her 1,000-point, 500-rebound ball before Friday night's Highlanders semi-final match-up with the Lady Jr. Bucs inside the Charlie Bayless Gymnasium at Happy Valley High School.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Cloudland Head Coach Matt Birchfield presents Saharra McKinney (22) with her 500-point, 500-rebound, 300-assist, and 250-steal ball before Friday night's Highlanders semi-final match-up with the Lady Jr. Bucs inside the Charlie Bayless Gymnasium at Happy Valley High School.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Cloudland's Makinna Shell (10) finishes the fastbreak layup with University High's Vania Ortiz (20) defending her early in the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders A stolen ball on an inbounds play results in an easy basket for Cloudland's Makinna Shell (10) midway through the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Cloudland's Saharra McKinney (22) dishes to a trailing Jayla Harper (42) for an open layup midway through the second quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Cloudland's Izabella Christman (32) hits a pull-up jumper in the paint over University High's Vania Ortiz (20) and Kathryn Joyner (31) late in the second quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Cloudland's Izabella Christman (32) and University High's Vania Ortiz (20) battle for a loose ball late in the first half. The jump ball was awarded to the Lady Jr. Bucs.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Lady Rangers' Haley Taylor (12) streaks down the lane for a layup early in the first quarter against the Lady Huskies of North Greene.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Lady Rangers' Lauren Lund (1) and Katlyn Dugger (23) trap a Lady Husky along the baseline and force a turnover early in the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Lady Rangers' Lauren Lund (1) drops in a jumper for two from just inside the arc late in the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Lady Rangers' Keyona Hague (40) is fouled by North Greene's Hannah Miller (35) as she drives through the paint for a layup late in the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Lady Rangers' Haley Taylor (12) throws up a runner as North Greene's Heidi Harmon (3) guards the lane late in the second quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Lady Rangers' Hannah Yontz (13) launches a triple from the corner late in the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Lady Rangers' Haley Taylor (12) fires a runner over North Greene's Hannah Miller (35) just before the half on Friday night.
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STAR CORRESPONDENT
On Friday night, the TSSAA held its District 1A playoff at Bayless Gymnasium on the campus of Happy Valley High School. The Cloudland Lady Highlanders advanced to the championship on Monday with a 63-18 victory over University School, while North Greene sent Unaka to the consolation round with a 61-35 win to advance to play Cloudland in the championship.
Cloudland (23-1) secured an easy win, holding the offensively challenged Lady Buccaneers to single-digit scoring in each quarter.
“We came out a little flat, but we got a good lead, got some steals and some buckets in transition, and it’s the second season right now,” said Lady Highlanders head coach Matt Birchfield. “You have got to go play because any loss can send you home. Ryan Turbyfill had a good game. She hit some big shots and had some big threes.”
Before the game, the Highlanders celebrated senior post Izabella Christman’s 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, and fellow senior Saharra McKinney, who scored 500 career points with 500 rebounds and 350 steals.
“Ever since I have been in junior high, Ryan and Saharra have been the key to it all,” Christman said. “They got me the ball whenever I would get a seal in the post. Rebounding is something I have always been good at and getting put back shots. It hurt last year to miss the playoffs with the knee injury. It was a big setback and it hurt me mentally, but the knee is a lot better now.”
Cloudland took a 33-7 halftime advantage and led 46-12 going into the fourth quarter and were never threatened. Turbyfill led all scorers with 19 points, with Makinna Shell adding 15 and Christman scoring 11 for the Highlanders. Vania Ortiz’s nine points were the high score for the Lady Bucs.
In the second game, North Greene defeated Unaka 61-35. The Lady Rangers (6-22) stayed close through the first quarter, trailing just 12-8, but the Lady Huskies (23-8) opened a huge halftime advantage with a 17-1 second quarter explosion. Unaka played much better in the second half, being outscored 32-26, but they had dug too deep a hole to climb out.
Lauren Lund connected on four threes and was the high scorer for the Rangers with 14 points, with Haley Taylor adding nine points. For North Greene, Ella Head’s 17 points led the way, with Lauren Blevins adding 16 points off the bench.
Unaka will take on University School for third place and will have to go on the road in the Regional tournament, while Cloudland and North Greene face off for the District 1A title.
District 1A Semifinal
Bayless Gymnasium
Cloudland 63-18
University School (18)
Joiner 3, V. Ortiz 9, L. Ortiz 2, Lewis 2, Willard 2.
Cloudland (63)
Street 6, Shell 15, McKinney 2, Turbyfill 19, Christman 11, E. McCurry 3, Forbes 1, L. Blair 2, S. McCurry 2, Clawson 2.
University 2 5 5 6 – 18
Cloudland 12 21 13 17 – 63
3-point goals: U 1 (V. Ortiz), C 4 (Turbyfill 3, E. McCurry 1)
District 1A Semifinal
Bayless Gymnasium
North Greene 61-35
Unaka (35)
Lund 14, E. Taylor 2, H. Taylor 9, Harrell 3, Hague 7.
North Greene (61)
Buchanan 7, Harmon 7, Head 17, Bailey 9, Miller 3, Blevins 16, Kurce 4.
Unaka 8 1 12 14 – 35
North Greene 12 17 14 18 – 61
3-point goals: U 6 (Lund 4, H. Taylor 1, Harrell 1), N 5 (Head 3, Buchanan 1, Harmon 1)
