SPORTS

Bigger Lady Bears knock off Hunter

Lady Buccaneers suffer first loss to Mt. Juliet Middle in the area tournament championship game

Craig Harris
Gallatin News Examiner

HENDERSONVILLE The Hunter Middle School girls basketball team left disappointed … but not devastated.

The Lady Buccaneers suffered their first loss in Thursday evening’s Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association (TMSAA) Area 3 Tournament championship game, a 44-30 setback to Mt. Juliet in a contest played at Knox Doss Middle at Drakes Creek.

“I’m very impressed,” Hunter head coach Craig Logan said of the Lady Bears. “They have really good personnel. They have size. They have a quick point guard (Navaeh Majors) who makes good decisions. They put a lot of pressure on our defense.

“It was a huge learning experience. We haven’t seen that kind of team in our league. We’re not prepared to play a team that good.”

Hunter Middle School’s Keonna Chumbly dribbles upcourt during first-quarter action. Chumbly scored three points.

Laci Walmer’s putback pulled the Lady Buccaneers (17-1) to within a point entering the second quarter, but two baskets from Jana Claire Swafford accounted for the only Hunter points of the second stanza.

Mt. Juliet (17-4) scored the final 10 points of the half to build a 24-14 lead.

Back-to-back layins from Walmer and Mia Dean trimmed the deficit to five points late in the third quarter, but Lady Bear post players Emma Jane Palmer and Aaliyah Frazier converted on layins over the final 50 seconds of the third quarter. That started a 14-4 run to conclude the game.

Hunter Middle School guard Mia Dean looks to shoot as Mt. Juliet’s Ryleigh Osborne pressures during first-quarter action. Dean scored seven points in the Lady Buccaneers’ 44-30 loss in Thursday evening’s Tennessee Middle School Athletic Association (TMSAA) Area 3 Tournament championship game.

Palmer scored nine of her 13 points during that stretch.

“You can’t teach size,” Logan said. “What’s even worse is (facing) size that knows what to do. I didn’t realize how good (Palmer) is. She’s a skilled basketball player. We didn’t have the personnel to match that size. We couldn’t combat their size on the boards.”

Majors finished with a game-high 14 points.

Swafford scored a team-high 12 points.

Hunter Middle School guard Ryleigh Piotto releases a first-quarter jump shot as Mt. Juliet’s Aaliyah Frazier looks on. Piotto scored four points.

“That’s a very good basketball team,” Logan said. “They’re well-coached and disciplined.

“We know we have another game to play. We have an opportunity to learn and get better and prepare for that type of team the next time we get on the floor. Now, we know (what to do). We have to play a little tougher and commit to doing things better.”

Both teams will host sub-sectional contests on Monday evening, with the winners advancing to the Middle Tennessee Sectional Tournament at Murfreesboro’s Central Magnet School.

Reach Craig Harris at charris@mtcngroup.com or at 615-575-7138. Follow him on Twitter @HarrisGNESports.

MT. JULIET (44) – Navaeh Majors 14, Emma Jane Palmer 13, Aaliyah Frazier 6, Alyssa Costley 4, Ryleigh Osborne 4, Alyssa Williamson 3.

HUNTER (30) – Jana Claire Swafford 12, Mia Dean 7, Ryleigh Piotto 4, Laci Walmer 4, Keonna Chumley 3.

Half: 24-14, Mt. Juliet. Three-point goals: Mt. Juliet 0, Hunter 1 (Dean 1). Records: Mt. Juliet 17-4, Hunter 17-1.