TMSAA Region 1-A girls’ hoops tournament kicks off
Published 9:21 pm Sunday, January 26, 2020
1 of 8
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
The Lady Junior Bulldogs Lindsey Hardin (23) goes baseline for this layup in the fourth quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
The Lady Tigers Mattie Salyer (20) hits a runner in the lane with Providence’s Aerin Hicks (13) all over her in the third quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
Hunter’s Haley Taylor (3) hits a left-handed layup on a fastbreak in the first quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
The Lady Comets Maliya Rollins (50) surrounded by three University School defenders hits a floater in the lane in the second quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
The Lady Comets Makaela Green (12) is fouled by University School Ella Barnett (10) as she drives by her on the way to the basket in the first quarter.
Contributed Photo
These four players were named to the All-District team. From the left Central’s Juley Nieminski (14) and Makaela Green (12) and from University School Ella Barnett (10) and Vania Ortiz (4).
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
These four players were named to the All-District team. From the left Hunter's Emma Taylor (1), Mattie Salyer (30), who was named the Districts MVP, and Haley Taylor(3). Providence’s Kenley Green (14) was also named to the team.
BY NIC MILLER
STAR CORRESPONDENT
HAMPTON – As high school basketball teams in the area draw near to conference tournament action, many middle school teams around the region have already kicked off postseason play this week.
On Thursday, Cloudland, Central, University School, Hampton, Keenburg, Hunter, and Providence all got things underway in the TMSAA Region 1-A girls tournament at Hampton Elementary School.
The Hampton Lady Bulldogs and the Keenburg Lady Tigers were the two teams that would kick off the hardwood action in Thursday’s affair.
The Lady Bulldogs came out hot on both sides of the ball in the first two quarters, and as a result, Hampton was able to take a commanding 29-2 lead going into the halftime break.
Coming out of the break, the game was transferred to a much slower pace with the Lady ‘Dogs passing more to control the clock. However, the Lady Tigers weren’t done yet as they began a comeback in the second half.
Even with the comeback effort from Keenburg, it wasn’t enough as the Lady Bulldogs would advance with a 46-11 win over the Lady Tigers.
Gracie Ballard led the Lady Bulldogs with 10 points while Lindsay Hardin finished with eight.
For the Lady Tigers, Bambi Nance finished with six points and was followed by Tiffany Dugger with five.
The second game of the evening featured the Lady Knights from Providence Academy and the Hunter Lady Tigers.
The Lady Tigers came out strong and couldn’t be stopped on offense while also controlling things on the defensive side of the ball.
Going into the break, Hunter controlled the momentum giving the Lady Tigers a 23-6 edge at halftime.
The second half seemed like a repeat of the first as Hunter’s excellent shooting and lockdown defense led the Lady Tigers to the second round, 39-14
In the win for the Lady Tigers, Haley Taylor and Jill Faust both led the team with seven points, followed by Emma Taylor with six.
For the Lady Knights, Bella Caldwell and Kenley Green both finished with four points.
The third and final game of the night featured the Comets of Central and the Buccaneers of University School.
This game was a much tighter contest than the first two as both teams spent some time trying to figure each other out.
In the defensive battle, it was the Lady Bucs who would go into the break with a slight 11-6 advantage over the Lady Comets.
In the end, it was the Lady Bucs who would punch their ticket to the semifinals, 28-17.
For the Lady Bucs, Emma Chandley was the leading scorer with 10 points, followed by Shannon Willard with six points.
In the effort for the Lady Comets, Maliya Rollins finished with seven points with Kiley Miller scoring four.
After the games were concluded, standout players from each team were given regular-season conference awards to recognize the players who excelled during the season.
Those players included:
Hampton – Taylor Berry & Macy Henry
Cloudland – Ryan Turbyfill & Izabella Christman
Johnson County – Sierra Green & Makenzie Kelly
Unicoi County – Allie Lingerfelt & Faith Bennett
Happy Valley – Marcida Thompson & Lacey Byrd
Hunter – Julie Tolley & Haley Taylor
Central – Juley Nieminski & Makaela
Keenburg – Bambi Nance & Tiffany Dugger
University School – Vania Ortiz & Ella Barnett
Little Milligan – Cam Surcey
Providence – Kenley Green
Unaka – Callie Hardin
Player of the Year (West) – Saharra Mckinney (Cloudland)
Player of the Year (East) – Mattie Salyer (Hunter)
Cloudland will play University School Saturday at 4:05 at Hampton High School while Hampton will play Hunter at 6:15 on Saturday. All four teams are playing for a spot in the regional championship game on Tuesday the 28th at 6:30 pm at Hampton High School.
