Lady Wildcats win battle of unbeatens

ANTIOCH — Wilson Central's size and experience paid off late Friday night as the defending state champion Lady Wildcats fought off Antioch 61-46 in a battle of unbeatens in the Antioch Classic.
Senior forward Tierney Jenkins all but carried the Wildcats inside with 20 points and 15 rebounds despite first-half foul trouble. Center Jasmine Hassell was also limited by fouls as she added eight points while fellow big girl Sara Williams tossed in 10.
But Lauren Farmer came on to fire in four three-pointers for her 12 as Central sank 5 of 12 from beyond the arc to improve to 11-0.
Central needed that balance as 5-foot-3 point guard Jasmine Gunn tossed in 23 points, including three triples and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line for the Lady Bears, who fell to 14-1. Rakelle Riley racked up 10 points.
"Our guards came in and gave us a lift," Lady Wildcat coach Bud Brandon said. "They're athletic, your typical Metro team. They get after you on defense and cause a lot of turnovers.
"We really held our composure late in the game and worked the clock and got a lot of good looks, which you should when you have a veteran team."
The Lady Wildcats led 15-12 following the first quarter and went up by nine during the second period before the Lady Bears battled back to within 33-28 by halftime. Central carried a 47-37 advantage into the fourth.
Central shot 51 percent from the floor and sank 16 of 23 free throws.
Kristyn Clark finished with five points for Central while Jessyca Christopher, Chelsea Burroughs and Lauren Wasson tossed in two each.
Central will travel to Greeneville for the Greene County Bank Classic at Hal Henard Gym. The Lady Wildcats will open with Morristown West at 10:30 a.m. CST Wednesday. The four-day tournament will wrap up next Saturday.
The other teams in Central's bracket are West Green, Knoxville Webb, Briarcrest, North Greene, Maryville and South Greene. Shelbyville lies in the other bracket along with Jefferson County, Chuckey-Doak, Archbishop Carroll, Lexington (Ky.) Catholic, Sevier County, Boone County (N.C.) and Greeneville.

Wildcats knock off Alabama 3A's No. 1 team
FT. PAYNE, Ala. — Perhaps Wilson Central should apply for membership in an out-of-state high school athletic association.
One day after beating a 10-win Campbell (Ga.) team in the Wills Valley Shootout, the Wildcats knocked off Alabama 3A's top-ranked Abbeville 65-59 in the semifinals Friday.
It was Abbeville's first loss of the season after 11 opening wins.
The Wildcats will carry a 7-4 season record into tonight's 7:30 p.m. final against a very familiar opponent, District 9-AAA rival Beech, which has already beaten Central this season.
Central led Abbeville 15-11 following the first quarter and 34-24 at halftime before the Alabama team caught the 'Cats 46-46 going into the fourth.
"They got after us in the third quarter," Wildcat coach Troy Bond said. "We had a bad third quarter scoring wise, but managed to be real resilient in the fourth quarter, made some free throws and managed to make some plays to get the win."
Central had balanced scoring from inside and outside, getting 24 points from center Travis Adkins, 21 from guard Kody Woodard and 10 from point guard Kelten Stewart. JaJuan Brooks finished with five, Arcavius McMurray three and Teraes Clemmons two.
Bond also praised the play of Jarvis Jenkins in the post off the bench.
Rasheed Harris fired in 15 points, Dominique Cloud 13 and Julrus Gibbs 10 for Abbeville.