 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
Archives
02-12-2003
Lady Wildcats pound out four wins
April Handy, #20, is hindered by a Smith County defender while attempting to put up a shot in the LA win.
By ASHLEY HUNTER, OCN staff Four more big games, four more big wins. First, the the Livingston Academy Lady Wildcats basketball team faced a tough non-district opponent in the Cumberland County Lady Jets on Monday, Feb. 3. The game began with LA jumping out to an early 3-0 lead. Quick play by Cumberland County, though, allowed them to come out to a big 13-7 lead toward the end of the first quarter. Livingston Academy came back on a 5-0 run to end the quarter only 3 points behind CCHS, at 15-12. Early in the second period, the Lady Cats came back to tie the Lady Jets at 15 apiece. Then, the Crossville team went on a 5-0 run similar to the one made by Livingston earlier in the game. LA didn't just sit back and watch them run points up on them, though. A Christen Cates bucket and back-to-back threes by Katrina Beechboard put the Lady Wildcats up 3 at 23-20. Cumberland County scored the last bucket of the quarter, though, to make the halftime score 23-22 in favor of LA. The Lady Cats must have gotten motivated in the locker room at halftime, because they opened the third quarter scoring three straight buckets. CCHS then came back to score one, and then LA matched it on the other end of the floor, but that was Livingston's last scoring of the quarter. The Lady Jets went on another 5-0 run to end the frame behind the Lady Cats by 2, at 31-29. In the fourth quarter, though, it was LA saddling up their horse and riding away with the game, as throughout the fourth, they got it to Beechboard, who either puts the ball in the hole or gets fouled trying. Livingston went up 39-33 with about a minute and a half to go on a Beechboard bucket, thus creating "Let's foul LA time" for CCHS. When it was all over and done, LA won by 7, 45-38. Cumberland County was led in scoring by Jennifer Hood and Amanda Harville, with 10 and 8 points, respectively. Livingston was led in scoring by Katrina Beechboard, with 25. She was followed by Megan Thompson with 6. Lady Wildcats Coach Lesley Smith said, "It was one of our best defensive efforts. Offensively, we had a little trouble scoring, but we kept up a great defense throughout the entire game." The next day, the girls traveled to play a district contest against Smith County in the LA gymnasium. The Lady Cats started the game in their zone, jumping out to an early 9-0 lead. Smith County outscored LA for the rest of the quarter, 9-5, but it was Livingston who had the lead at the end of one, 14-9. In the second quarter, it was a little more nip and tuck. Smith County tied LA at 16 at one point in the quarter, but it was LA's halftime advantage, at 26-23. The Smith County Owlettes continued to quietly stay in the game, keeping one or two points behind the Lady Cats until about midway through the third quarter, when Livingston broke it open wider than the Grand Canyon. First, a Whitney Hill basket, then a Kasey Baltimore three, then a 4-point play by Beechboard brought down the house and put Livingston up 10, 46-36, to end the third period. It was more of the same in the fourth quarter, as the teams exchanged baskets and LA's lead never got below the 10 it was at the end of the previous period. When it was all over, the score was 61-47, with LA taking the huge district win. Smith County was led in scoring by Audrey Goolsby and Kendra Bayne, each with 13 points. Livingston was led in scoring by Katrina Beechboard, with 27 points. She was followed by Whitney Hill, with 8. Coach Smith said, "We didn't play as well as I'd hoped. We let up defensively and let them hang in too long." The Livingston team went on the road to play the DeKalb County Tigerettes in Smithville on Friday, Feb. 8. The game began with more on-fire play by the Livingston girls. The Lady Wildcats held DeKalb County to only 3 first quarter points, while they scored 13, saying a lot about the caliber of the Livingston Academy program's offense as well as defense. As the second quarter opened, the Livingston girls continued to punish. They began the period with a 6-0 run, taking a 19-3 lead. At halftime, LA had taken a 19-3 advantage and turned it into a whopping 37-11 lead. By the time DeKalb County ever hit 20 points, LA was already up to 51. When DeKalb County's bad dream was over, and the game-ending horn sounded, it was Livingston Academy winning 77-45. DeKalb County was led in scoring by Laura England and Mia Jeffries, with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Everyone on the Livingston Academy team scored in the game. Coach Smith said, "We played really well from start to finish. "They have a really young team. "The game was really kind of unusual for us in that we had two young players to lead us in major categories. Krista Clinard led us in assists with 5, and April Handy led us in rebounding with 6." LA went on to play their final game of the week on Saturday, Feb. 8, at home against Clarkrange. This turned out to be a game rather than a slaughter. The game began with Clarkrange jumping out to an early 8-0 lead with 5:55 to play in the first period. LA came back to score 8 points of their own to end the first. The only problem with that, though, is that Clarkrange managed to score 7 more points, to take a 15-8 advantage to end the first. Clarkrange continued to lead until about midway through the second, when the great basket-exchange fest began. At halftime, Clarkrange still had the advantage, this time by only a point, though, at 22-21. The third quarter was more of the same edge-of-your-seat action with two or three lead changes. At the end of the third quarter exchange fest, it was LA by 2, 33-31. In the fourth quarter, Livingston began to pull away. Clarkrange didn't go down without a fight, though. They stayed in it right up until the end, firing up threes and putting forth a winning effort. In the end, though, it was LA who had eaten their Wheaties that morning, and won it 48-42. Clarkrange was led in scoring by Michelle Snow, with 21 points. She was followed by Erica Whittenberg with 14. Livingston Academy was led in scoring by Kellie Thurman, who put in 14 for the Lady Cats, including back-to-back threes in the third quarter. She was followed by Christen Cates and Katrina Beechboard, who each scored 10 points. Coach Smith said, "It was a big challenge for us. We had beaten them twice, and it was hard to do it again. " They came out in a triangle and two defense, with a lot of coverage on Beechboard and Thompson. Kellie Thurman really came through for us, hitting three threes and kind of icing the game for us." The Lady Wildcats' record moved to 19-6 overall, with a district record of 9-1. Their only district loss was to Jackson County, the team they were scheduled to play Tuesday night, Feb. 11. Following that game, the Livingston team suits up for a St. Valentine's Day contest against Upperman High School, then round out the season with an away game against Cookeville on Tuesday, Feb. 18. Coach Smith said of these games, "They're two huge games. If we want to tie for first in the district, we've got to win both. Otherwise, we're stuck in second place. "I think we can win both of them if we play well."
Streaking Wildcats sweep week's play
Kyle Copeland, #12, drops in a bucket for LA in last week's district victory over Smith County's Owls.
By KEVIN BURMEISTER, OCN staff This week's boys basketball action featured the Wildcats grounding both the Jets and Owls, as well as herding the Tigers and Buffaloes out of the picture altogether, with a crucial late-season sweep of the week's schedule. The first LA victim came in the form of the Crossville Jets on Monday, Feb. 3. The Jets had beaten up on the Cats in their December 10 victory earlier this season, and Livingston was poised to avenge. After the first frame, it appeared the Jets would be once again requesting permission to fly by the crouching Wildcats, with Crossville leading by a 3 spot after one. All Top Gun lingo aside, Livingston pinned back their ears for the second quarter and ate up the Crossville defense, outscoring the Jets 28-10 in the period, taking a 41-26 lead into half-time. After the break, the Cats were still surging, dropping 19 on the crashing and burning Jets. The final quarter proved a bit more optimistic for Crossville, but their 24 fourth quarter point effort fell in vain, with Livingston prevailing, 76-60. Livingston played like a solid unit in this contest, with 12 players contributing to the final score. Matt Reeder led Livingston with 12, with Brandon Matthews chipping in with 11 bench points, including three 3-pointers. Brian Colson scored 9 points, Jamie Gurley and Cody King each scored 8 points, King hitting two 3-pointers, Wilson Cates and Kyle Copeland each scored 6 points, Copeland including a 3-pointer, Dustin Ferrell scored 5 points, Brad West hit a 3-pointer and a free throw, Wesley Puckett scored 3 points, and Shawn Gray and Luke Eldridge each scored 2 points. After cleaning up the heap of twisted metal that was Crossville's Jets, the Cats hosted Smith County on Tuesday, Feb. 4. After squeaking to a 25-24 halftime lead, the Owls coughed up a whopper of a pellet in the second half, giving up 23 to the red-hot Cats in the third quarter alone. The final frame was not looking any better for the Owls, whose fourth quarter tailspin locked them in at an 18-point loss at the hands of the raging Cats. The 72-54 victory was spearheaded by Jamie Gurley's 24 point offering, which included two 3-pointers, with Reeder throwing in 16 of his own. Brad Matthews and Wilson Cates scored 11 points apiece, with Matthews hitting three from 3-point range. Copeland and Colson each scored 4 points, and Eldridge scored 2. With half of their broom session in the books, the Wildcats continued their sweep on the road against DeKalb County on Friday, Feb. 7. The first quarter brought Livingston an early 13-8 lead, but the Tigers were not so easily deterred. After falling behind, the Smithville team fought back in the second frame, outscoring the Cats by 15 within its duration to claim a 34-23 lead at the break. The game put on a whole new face after the break, with Livingston destroying the meowing Tigers, reeling off a 36-11 third quarter performance. Despite a historically forest and meadowland-filled habitat, the Wildcats proved to be kings of the jungle by the final buzzer, defeating the Tigers 81-70. Gurley led the LA onslaught with 29 points, including six 3-pointers. Kyle Copeland scored 14 points, including two 3-pointers, and Wilson Cates, who put in 10. Reeder scored 7 points, West and King scored 5 each, each including a 3-pointer, Colson scored 4, and Matthews, Gray, and Puckett each scored 2, and Ferrell hit a free throw. Livingston's dominating week was wrapped up with a homestand against Clarkrange on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Wildcats were hungry for yet another mark in the win column, and trampled the Buffaloes out of the gate, staking a 23-8 first quarter lead. Even after their stingy defense cooled in the second quarter, Livingston remained on top by a double-diez, boasting a 45-25 advantage at the nacho break. LA's margin of victory spreaded from substantial to downright gluttonous in the second half, with the Cats leading by 27 entering the fourth quarter. Livingston pegged the coffin's final nail with a 17-12 showing in the final session, securing an already secure 90-58 win. Gurley once again led all scorers with 24, as Reeder totaled 12 points. Brad West scored 10 for the winning squad, while Brandon Matthews and Luke Eldridge both scored 9. The Cats crept ever closer to the regular season's end when they hit the road against Jackson County on Tuesday, Feb. 11. Livingston will show no love to the Bees when they host Upperman on Friday, Feb. 14, nor to the Cavaliers when they close out the season at Cookeville on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
Overton County News
|
Lyndon Johnson/OCN staff 
Lyndon Johnson/OCN staff