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Archives
12-29-2004
Cats take runner-up spot,
Lady Cats finish well in tourney Cats take runner-up spot, Lady Cats finish well in tourney
Mac McLeod/OCN staff By MAC McLEOD, OCN Sports In action last week in the Coca-Cola Mid South Tournament played at Upperman, Gainesboro, and Cookeville, the Lady Cats lost in the opening round to Brentwood Academy, then stormed back with two victories, storming over Moore County 68-28, then getting by Anderson County 73-46. The Livingston boys won their first three games defeating Shelbyville, then getting a revenge 60-44 victory over White County. The Wildcats then got by Upperman 49-41, and advanced to the championship game against Clarksville Wednesday night, Dec. 22 in Cookeville. In the title game, the Wildcats found their shooting about as cold as the weather outside and dropped a 66-43 decision that was a little closer than the final score indicated. Clarksville raced out to a 20-10 lead at the close of the first period and led at halftime, 34-23. In the third and fourth periods, the Wildcats managed to close the game to within 8 points on several occasions, but in the end, just couldn't find the shooting range. A realistic Wilson Cates said, "Some nights it just goes like that. We didn't play all that badly; we just couldn't find the range outside and nothing seemed to fall." In addition to having a bad shooting night, the Wildcats also lost the services of one of their top shooters in Brandon Matthews, who fractured a bone in his foot and will be out of action for about six weeks. LA Coach Danny McCoin said, "Losing the game to Clarksville was one thing, but losing Brandon is really going to make us have to work a lot harder for about six weeks. "We played some outstanding teams like Shelbyville and White County, and we played well, I thought. Against Upperman, I probably tried to coach too much and wanted to try some different things, and that hurt us some. And against Clarksville, we just couldn't get the shots to fall, and then I think we got a little shy and didn't take some shots. "There were 16 teams when the tournament started and we finished second," McCoin added. "That wasn't all that bad." In the championship game, Livingston shot only 39 percent from the field, while the winners hit 62 percent. Wildcat players named to the All-Tournament Team were Cates, Matthews, and Brad West. This week, the Wildcats will swing into action at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night, Dec. 28 against Elliston Baptist. After the setback to Brentwood, the Lady Cats appear to have found the winning combination they have been looking for. The victories over Moore and Anderson counties appear to have Coach Lesley Smith's charges back on track. "From the very beginning of the year, we have been looking for the players that play best with each other, and we appear to have found that, at least for now," Smith explained. "In the two games we won, we played very well and were dominating on both ends of the court. I hope we can just keep up this pace of play." Against Moore County, three players were in double figures, with Jada Ledbetter and Whitney Sells each hitting for 15 markers, and April Handy adding 10 more. In the Anderson County game, Haley Mullins led the way with 14, while Sells hit four shots from the 3-point range for 12. Handy and Ashley Matthews each added 7. In the Jaycees Tournament this week, the Lady Cats will get a bye Wednesday, Dec. 29 when they will play Clay County at 7 p.m. The tournament continue until the championship round on Thursday, Dec. 30.
Overton County News
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