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| Bartlett's Rachell Hughes drives on Arlington's Chyna Ellis during the District 14-AAA tournament title game. Hughes scored 18 points but the Panthers lost, 52-42. |
Arlington takes 14-AAA title
MVP Ariel Hearn, a University of Memphis signee, scored 16 points, and senior forward Logan Hammonds stepped up in the fourth quarter as the Arlington (24-3) girls won their second straight district tournament title with a 52-42 decision over Bartlett (18-11) on Monday at Bolton.
“All I know is that we did what we had to do and won,” said Hearn, whose only fourth-quarter points came at the foul line.
It was Hammonds, a 6-foot forward headed to Arkansas-Monticello, who stepped up in the shooting department after three chilly quarters. She moved in for two short-range jumpers, then nailed an open three in a 10-0 Arlington run that made it 46-35 midway through the final quarter.
“I was so bad in the third, but then I hit one shot, then another …. ” said Hammonds, who scored nine of her 10 points in the final quarter.
The constant was interior defense as 6-2 sophomore Chyna Ellis had 12 rebounds and five of her team's nine blocked shots, as the Tigers repeatedly frustrated attempts by Bartlett to drive the lane.
"It wasn't pretty at times, but we played good defense inside, and did a good job on (Destiny) James," Tiger coach David Offerle said after his team's third win over Bartlett this season.
James, who lit up Arlington for 35 in the last game, was held to 13 points, and six in the second half. Senior Rachell Hughes led Bartlett with 18 on the night, nine in the third quarter when the Panthers got as close as 33-27.
But after falling behind, 10-0, to start the game, and allowing 8-0 and 10-0 bursts by Arlington in the middle two quarters, Panthers’ coach Lynn Whitfield said “We dug ourselves too much of a hole, and we couldn’t deal with their size and athleticism inside.”
Bartlett did get back to within 47-41 on a three-ball by James with two minutes left to play. But seniors Hearn, Christyn Hopper and Hammonds went 5-of-6 from the foul line down the stretch to close Bartlett out.
“They did what you want seniors to do,” Offerle said.
The combination of size, experience and Hearn running the show makes Offerle believe his team has enough tools to break the recent Region 8 strangehold on state tournament berths.
“This is our shot,” said Offerle, whose team was eliminated in the regional semifinals by Cordova last year after winning the district. “I’ve told our kids, the key is if we can play the substate game at our place (with a regional title), I like our chances.”
In the third-place girls game, sophomore Kendra Richardson scored seven of her 12 points in the fourth quarter as Millington (15-13) rallied from a five-point deficit for a 35-31 decision over Bolton (11-16). All four teams advance to the region tournament that begins this week.
Overton girls roll in 15-AAA
When Cornelia Fondren retreated to locker room after being named the District 15-AAA tournament's Most Outstanding Player following Overton's 50-36 victory over Southwind Monday night in the championship game at Ridgeway, among the first things she did was store her plaque away in her backpack.
"It doesn't have any meaning to it," Fondren, a Syracuse signee, said.
That's because Overton's star guard and the rest of her teammates realize there is plenty of basketball to play in this postseason.
On Monday the Lady Wolverines extending a seven-point halftime lead to 29-16, but the Lady Jaguars responded with a 9-0 spurt to close the gap to 29-25 with inside of two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
However, just as they've done on numerous occasions this season, the more experienced Lady Wolverines (23-2) responded with a valiant defensive showing over the game's final eight minutes. That enabled Overton to pull away once again and extend its winning streak against Southwind (26-7) to eight games dating back to the 2009 season. The win also gave the Lady Wolverines their fifth consecutive district title.
Fondren managed a quiet 12 points on 3-of-12 shooting, but went 9-of-12 from the free-throw line. However, her supporting cast provided enough assistance, especially fellow senior Cortrice Golden, who finished with a team-best 18 points, including six during Overton's pivotal 8-0 run to start the fourth. Philecia Atkins also scored in double figures with 10 points for the Lady Wolverines.
Overton will host White Station in the first round of the Region 8 tournament on Friday.
Sophomore point guard Amber Holmes registered six of her team-high 11 points in the second half and Bianca Cage, after going scoreless in the opening half, managed 10 points for Southwind, which will host Whitehaven in the opening round of the regionals.
"I'm really proud of the way we fought back," Southwind coach Stan Gatlin said. "It would have been easy to lie down. But we can play with anybody if we keep doing our stuff. We're a much better team than we played tonight."
Brianna Mitchell scored a game-high 33 points as Germantown (20-9) edged host Ridgeway, 68-66, in the third-place game. Odegua Oigbokie's 21 points led the Roadrunners (17-9).
MAHS girls win 16-A tourney titles
The girls from Memphis Academy of Health Sciences captured the 16-A championship 49-47 over top-seed BTW (23-2). Kiara Chambers scored 13 to lead MAHS (20-10).
Fayette Academy repeats
Coach Rick Sullivan's Fayette Academy girls did it again. The Lady Vikings won their second straight Division 2-A West Region title knocking off Harding 57-49. The Lady Vikings (28-1) will host University School of Nashville in a sub-state game on Friday. The Lady Lions (23-7) will host Ezell-Harding.
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