Lady Wildcats No. 1 in 9-AAA

HENDERSONVILLE — Hours after Mt. Juliet attained the No. 1 ranking in the final Associated Press poll of the season with Wilson Central taking second, the Lady Wildcats put together their own recount, which showed a 70-55 WC victory in the District 9-AAA finals Monday night at Beech.
After Mt. Juliet carried a 17-14 lead into the second quarter, the Lady Wildcats asserted their dominance in the paint, shooting 72 percent in the first half to go up 30-23 at halftime. Central led 48-37 through three periods.
"We put together a pretty good game," Central coach Bud Brandon said after his Lady Wildcats climbed to 29-3 for the season. "We kept them off the foul line and controlled the boards.
"We did a good job of controlling the paint offensively and defensively."
Tierney Jenkins, named a Miss Basketball finalist earlier in the day, earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors with 24 points [hitting all eight of her free throws] and 18 rebounds. Sophomore center Jasmine Hassell hit 8 of her 10 shots for 17 while senior Sara Williams sank all five of her shots from the floor [including a three-pointer] on her way to 14 points and nine rebounds as the Lady Wildcats controlled the glass 37-16.
"Their three big girls played really well," Mt. Juliet coach Chris Fryer said after his Lady Bears slipped to 26-3. "The third and fourth quarter, [Jenkins] took over and made big plays for them. Williams had some big shots, she made some plays. Hassell played well.
"They're quite a bit bigger than us. They played well."
Lauren Wasson sank all six of her free throws on her way to eight points for Central while Lauren Farmer flicked in both of her three-pointers for six. Jessyca Christopher flipped in a free throw.
Rebecca Sharpe sank 5 of 6 three-pointers on her way to 23 points for Mt. Juliet while K.C. VanAtta tossed in two triples for half of her 12. Miaca Bowman added eight and Jordan Nixon and Heather Miller six each.
Joining Jenkins on the All-Tournament team are Hassell, Williams and Wasson from Central and Sharpe, VanAtta and Nixon from Mt. Juliet.
Both teams will host home games in the Region 5-AAA tournament at 7 p.m. Friday against the third- and fourth-place teams from District 10. The winners will return to Beech for the semifinals next week. Fryer said those are the games that really matter now.
"Right now, all we're thinking about are the elimination games, winning those games you got to win to stay alive," Fryer said. "The next two games are crucial. I feel good about where we're at overall. Being alive is pretty good. There are some teams that aren't alive anymore.
"I'm not really into coaching district championships. I'm for advancing as far as we can."
Brandon said his Lady Wildcats appear to be rounding into shape for a run to a repeat state championship.
"We've made a lot of improvement the last several weeks," Brandon said. "We're playing good, playing mentally tough."
As for not being ranked No. 1 in the final poll, Brandon said, "Hopefully, everything works out. Sometimes, it's best not to be No. 1."
Smyrna beat host Beech 59-53 in the third-place game.