Girls hoops roundup: Blackman wins in elite Nike event
Blackman outscored Hamilton, Arizona 14-8 in the third quarter and the Lady Blaze began its run in the Nike Tournament of Champions with a 57-44 win on Friday in Phoenix.
Connecticut commitment Crystal Dangerfield led the Lady Blaze (8-1) with 21 points.
MTSU signee Alex Johnson had 18 points and 10 rebounds. And Western Carolina signee Angel Allen grabbed 10 rebounds.
Blackman, which ranked No. 1 in the country by ESPN, No. 3 by MaxPreps and No. 7 by USA TODAY, plays Desert Vista, Arizona at 11 a.m. Friday.
Oakland 52, James Clemens (Ala.) 34: Junior Shelby Gibson powered the Lady Patriots (8-1) with 23 points. Eastern Kentucky signee Abby Wright tallied 16.
Oakland is currently ranked sixth in the country by MaxPreps and 19th by USA TODAY. Oakland plays Austin, Alabama at 1 p.m. Friday.
Riverdale 63, South Forsyth (Ga.) 59: Sophomore Anastasia Hayes scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed four steals to pace the Lady Warriors (10-1) to the win in the Crescom Bank Holiday Invitational in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Riverdale has won 10 straight since losing a season-opener to Central Magnet in overtime.
Riverdale plays Fleming, Virginia at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
Freshmen Brinae Alexander and Alexis Whittington each had big games off the bench. Alexander added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and grabbed four rebounds. Whittington had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and had four steals.
Junior Caroline Patrick had eight points and five rebounds.
Cannon Co. 62, Ooltewah 44: Autumn King scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Lionettes (10-2) to the win in the Rhea County Christmas Tournament. Kelli Davis had 15 points.
Cannon County plays Wilson Central at 3:30 p.m. Friday.
Smyrna 70, Page 36: Alabama-Huntsville signee Allie Bolton scored 13 points and teammates Kiyah Clark and Sha Roberts tallied 10 points to lead Smyrna (9-2) to the win.
The Lady Bulldogs play at 7 p.m. Friday at Community.