Hawkins girls fall in area opener

HENDERSONVILLE The Hawkins Middle School girls basketball team fell behind early on and couldn’t recover in Tuesday evening’s 46-23 loss to Mt. Juliet in the two teams’ Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association (TMSAA) Area 3 Tournament semifinal contest at Knox Doss Middle at Drakes Creek.

Lady Commando point guard Deshiya Hoosier made two free throws to open the scoring, but the Lady Bears scored the next 14 points.

Mt. Juliet (16-4) led by as many as 15 points in the first half.

Hoosier’s 15-foot jump shot and Macy Thomas’ layin pulled Hawkins back to within 11 points late in the half, but Lady Bear center Emma Jane Palmer converted a layin in the final seconds to create a 23-10 score at halftime.

Palmer scored 10 of her game-high 19 points in the first half.

She was the only player to score in double figures.

The Lady Commandos didn’t get any closer in the second half.

Janaeya Mayes led Hawkins (13-4) offensively with eight points, and both Hoosier and Thomas scored six points.

The loss will force the Lady Commandos to travel for their sub-sectional contest on Monday, while the win earned Mt. Juliet an opportunity to host its sub-sectional game. Winners of the sub-sectional games will advance to next week’s Middle Tennessee Sectional Tournament, which will be played at Murfreesboro’s Central Magnet School.

Hawkins moved on to face West Wilson in Thursday afternoon’s consolation game, while the Lady Bears advanced to face Hunter in Thursday evening’s championship game.

HAWKINS (23) – Janaeya Mayes 8, Deshiya Hoosier 6, Macy Thomas 6, Grace Doucette 3.

MT. JULIET (46) – Emma Jane Palmer 19, Navaeh Majors 7, Ryleigh Osborne 7, Alyssa Costley 6, Kearstyn Seay 3, Chiara Cowens-Jervis 2, Aaliyah Frazier 2.

Half: 23-10, Mt. Juliet. Three-point goals: Hawkins 1 (Doucette 1), Mt. Juliet 2 (Osborne 2). Records: Hawkins 13-4, Mt. Juliet 16-4.