TMSAA Region 1-A Girls Area Tournament Cloudland, Hampton punch ticket to finals
Published 12:31 am Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Hampton's Gracie Ballard takes the basketball to the rim.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Hunter's Hannah Yontz gets ready to release a shot in the Lady Tiger's game against Hampton.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Cloudland's Ryan Turbyfill goes up with a shot over a University School defender.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Jr. Lady Highlander Izabella Christman goes up for two points in the paint.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Cloudland's Saharra McKinney works the ball toward the hoop for two points against University High.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Hunter's Jill Faust drives toward the basket for the Lady Tigers while being defended closely by a Jr. Lady Bulldog.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Cloudland's Ryan Turbyfill (23) and Izabella Christman (32) were named to the All-Conference team while Saharra McKinney (22) collected the Conference Player of the Year honors for 2019-2020.
BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
HAMPTON – At the completion of the action on Saturday at VanHuss-White Gym, two girls teams had punched their tickets to the championship round of the TMSAA Region 1-A girls area tournament.
Little doubt was left by either who was going to be playing for the championship hardware on Tuesday evening as Cloudland and Hampton will battle for the title.
Both guaranteed themselves a spot in the upcoming Sectionals at John Sevier Middle in Kingsport.
Semifinal 1
Cloudland…52
University… 2
The regular-season West Division champion Cloudland Jr. Lady Highlanders left no doubt in the first semifinal of the evening by pouncing on the Lady Bucs to take a 50 point win.
By the time the first 12 minutes clicked off to bring the half, Cloudland was ahead 39-0 as the Jr. Lady ‘Landers were hotter than the burning popcorn that was sending smoke throughout the hallways.
Ryan Turbyfill and Saharra McKinney were like a well-oiled machine in the early going as Turbyfill filled the basket for 14 points in the half while McKinney was nipping on her heels with 13 points.
Turbyfill finished with a game-high 20 points with McKinney totaling 13. Izabella Christman chipped in with six points.
Kenzie Street and Layken Blair totaled four points each in the contest while Kaitlen Harrison added three points.
Mia Clark finished with two points.
Emma Chandley’s two free throws in the third period accounted for University School’s only two points.
Semifinal 2
Hampton….50
Hunter…….22
In a game that was a little more competitive than the first, the Jr. Lady Bulldogs of Hampton took care of the Hunter Lady Tigers in the night’s finale by 28 points.
The Hampton offense was consistent in the contest as the Jr. Lady ‘Dogs scored 14 points in each of the first three periods of play to build their lead.
Meanwhile, the Lady Tigers never got their offensive footing scoring double figures in only the second quarter as they watched Hampton pull away.
Gracie Ballard and Taylor Berry accounted for 12 points apiece to lead the way for the victors.
Piper Helle contributed with eight points. A trio of Jr. Lady ‘Dogs netted four points including Maci Henry, Lindsay Hardin, and Faye Carrico.
Two points each were added by Ella Eastep and Hannah Smith.
Jill Faust led the Lady Tigers with eight points in the contest. Hannah Yontz contributed with five points while Julie Tolley accounted for four points.
McKenzie Mobley nailed a trey with a free throw each being knocked down by Mollie Buckles and Mattie Salyer.
Hunter and University will also be playing in the sectionals as the top four teams advance.
The consolation game between Hunter and University will be played Tuesday at 4 pm while the championship game is slated for 6:30 pm.
