The girls contest allowed Coach Bryant Collins to clear his
bench, with 10 of the Lady Redskins inking the score sheet before the night was
over. Senior post player Chelsey Moore shared
the top scoring total at 19 with Sweetwater’s Raven Jefford. Loudon’s Zoe Grimes
added 11, followed by Jara Gasper with nine and Savannah Berry hitting eight.
Freshman Aspen Jordan was good with five points, while Julie Waddell and Bre
Snow each dropped four through the hoop. Jodi Dailey drained a long-range
bucket for three. Bekah Campbell and Haylee Henry each scored early field goals
for two points apiece. Joining Dailey with baskets from beyond the arc were
Berry with one and Moore with two.
Loudon started slow and allowed the Lady Wildcats an early
lead. After one period, the visitors were up 13-12. The Lady Redskins turned up
the intensity on defense in the second period, holding Sweetwater to only three
points. They also dialed up more offense to the tune of five players scoring a
combined 13 to jump on top 25-16 at the half.
 |
| Photo by Sammie Dunlap © 2012. Savannah Berry takes it to the hoop through a pair of Lady Wildcats. |
By the time the third quarter clock wound down, the Lady
Redskins’ Moore and Grimes were wound up, each hitting three field goals in the
19-point period for a 44-28 thrashing. Loudon gave no quarter down the stretch.
In the fourth, 23 points by seven different Lady Redskins put the game out of
reach, even though Jefford hit three 3-point baskets in a valiant 22 point comeback
bid by Sweetwater.
A marked difference in free throw shooting could have
spelled doom for Loudon had the score been closer. The Lady Redskins only hit
seven-of-16 for 43.7 percent from the charity stripe. Sweetwater connected on
15-of-21 for 71.4 percent of their foul shots.
The Lady Redskins won the regular season title and earned a
bye in the District 4-AA tournament at Loudon this week. They will hit the
hardwood Saturday at 7 p.m. against the winner of Thursday’s CAK/Kingston game.
The district championship is scheduled for Feb. 21 at 6 p.m.
Coming off a thrilling come-from-behind double overtime win
over cross-county rival Lenoir City last week, the Redskins continued both
their comeback and winning ways at the expense of Sweetwater.
Sweetwater started strong, going up 14-6 on their hosts in
the first period. The second quarter saw a complete reversal as Loudon scored
19 to the Wildcats eight for a 25-22 Redskin advantage. Loudon’s defense got
even stingier in the third. The Redskins held the visitors to only five, while
thrilling the home crowd with 3-point shots by Jordan Belvin (two) and Andrew
Hendrix (one), to ink 19 more points in the period. The 44-27 score at the
third quarter buzzer had the fans roaring their approval. Both teams put 16
through the hoop in the fourth, keeping the final score margin right where
Loudon wanted it with a 17-point advantage.
 |
| Photo by Sammie Dunlap © 2012. Andrew Hendrix puts up a shot in Loudon's 60-43 win over Sweetwater. |
Hendrix led the Redskins with 15 points, while Ty Hairston
was close behind at 13. Belvin and Jaden Bailey each ripped the net for nine. Jon
Dorsett was good with six and Jake Blankenship banged in four. Clay Jenkins and
Justin Shell each added a pair on fourth quarter field goals. Bailey hit a
long-range basket in addition to Belvin and Hendrix’s third quarter heroics
from outside.
The Redskins play Scott County Friday at 8 p.m. in district
tournament play at Loudon High School.
No comments:
Post a Comment