Oak Ridge girls take another step toward goal
Oak Ridge High School girls basketball coach Paige Green knows it’s a process getting to the Class AAA state tournament, and her team’s process continued Friday night.
Sophomore guard Jada Guinn led the balanced scoring with 13 points as the Lady Wildcats (18-2, 10-0 District 3-AAA) posted a 59-45 victory over host Powell (13-6, 8-3).
Guinn started as a freshman last year when Oak Ridge reached the state championship game before losing to Murfreesboro Riverdale.
“We’ve got to approach every single game like it’s another step for us to get better,” Green said. “Our goal is to get there (to state), but we’ve got to try to get better every single game.”
Oak Ridge lost one starter, forward Caelyn Thompson, from last year’s 29-5 team. Thompson is running track at Milligan College.
Guinn is a college prospect along with juniors Jaymi Golden and Mykia Dowdell and senior Courtney Ellison.
Guinn, averaging 14.6 points and 4.2 rebounds, plays shooting guard with Golden at point guard.
Dowdell is averaging 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds as a post, but likely will play a wing/forward position in college. Her mother, Tammy, is an assistant coach for Oak Ridge and former standout player for the Lady Wildcats and for Chattanooga.
Mykia’s offers include East Tennessee State University, Middle Tennessee State University, and Chattanooga.
“Mykia didn’t even start playing basketball until she was in sixth grade,” Green said. “She was a dancer before. Her physicality, her build, coaches see that and there’s all kinds of things you can do with that because you can’t teach that. You can’t create that.”
In Friday’s game, Dowdell and Ellison scored 12 points each and Golden and Destiny Kassner had nine apiece.
Green relies on that type of balance.
“That’s typically how we are, and that’s when we’re good, when we have balanced scoring like that against good teams,” she said.
Haley Shubert had 20 points for Powell.
PrepXtra poll: Boys and girls basketball players of the week
Bush Update: If the Oak Ridge boys are to make a deep postseason run, they likely will do it without 6-4 senior forward EJ Bush, who suffered a torn meniscus and had surgery Dec. 26.
“We’re really expecting him to be out for the year,” Oak Ridge boys coach Aaron Green said after Friday’s 99-56 win at Powell.
“If we get him back late in the season or postseason, it will be a long shot, but right now, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Bush, most valuable player of last year’s Region 2-AAA tournament, was averaging 17 points and about 7 rebounds when he was injured.
“That’s a huge loss for us, not only from a skill standpoint and what type of player he is, but his length, and he’s a great kid,” Green said. “I hate it for him. He’s a senior and was having a really, really good year.”
With Bush out of the lineup, 6-5 senior guard/wing Tee Higgins has moved to power forward. Higgins, who will sign to play wide receiver for Clemson, could also play point guard if Bush returned.
Oak Ridge (17-2, 10-0 District 3-AAA) isn’t lacking offense despite the absence of Bush.
Senior guard Anthony Gibson scored 27 points against Powell, senior guard Tajion Jones had 24, Higgins had 13 and 6-5 senior forward Tyshawn Young had 10.
Gibson had three 3-pointers and Jones two. Oak Ridge had nine 3s.
“That’s one thing about us offensively,” Green said. “We’ve got several guys that can shoot it. We’ve got several guys that can score it, and it gives us a lot of weapons out there and makes us harder to guard.”
Junior Levert Smith has assumed the starting point guard role in place of Geevantay Gee, one of two starters gone from last year’s team that lost to David Crockett in the state sectionals. Forward Javien Johnson was the other senior starter last year.
“(Smith has) probably been the difference in my opinion,” Green said.
“He’s been the X-factor in maybe making us a really good team to maybe a great team. He’s averaging almost seven or eight assists a game and only giving up one or two turnovers a game. His (assist to) turnover ratio is really good. He’s getting people shots, and we’ve got guys around him who can score it.”
Oak Ridge’s only losses were to Trinity (Ky.) 68-62 on Dec. 29 and to Wayne (Ohio) 53-47 on Dec. 30 in the Arby’s Classic in Bristol. Bush and Higgins missed both games.
Karns Dodges Upset: Junior point guard K.J. Hawkins scored on a layup in the closing seconds of overtime as Karns beat host Central 77-75 on Friday night.
Karns (16-2, 10-1 in District 3-AAA) has a district loss to Oak Ridge, 97-68 on Jan. 3, and a non-district loss to Catholic, 77-59 on Dec. 27.
Central (4-19, 1-10) made 14 shots from 3-point range in Friday’s game. Trey Mitchell had five 3-pointers for the Bobcats.
“It wasn’t just one guy (making 3s),” Karns coach Lee Henson said.
“They had several guys. Trey Mitchell made some big shots for them.”
Mitchell led Central with 19 points.
Senior wing Isaiah Keeter had 20 points and Hawkins had 19 for Karns.
Karns plays host to Powell (15-5, 8-3) on Tuesday.
“It’s a really good rivalry,” Henson said. “Coach (Gary) Barnes does a great job. It’s a battle down to the wire every time we play.”
Maryville Wins 11th Straight: Jake Giles scored with 4.2 seconds left and Maryville (15-2, 7-1 District 4-AAA) beat host Heritage 67-65 on Friday.
Maryville has won 11 consecutive games since a 57-54 home loss to Bearden on Dec. 6. The Rebels’ other loss was to Walker Valley, 72-67 on Nov. 28 in the Heritage Thanksgiving Classic.
“We had a really good summer and thought we could have a good year, and we have,” Maryville coach Mark Eldridge said. “We’ve played well.
We haven’t always been great, but every good team finds ways to win close games. We’ve had three or four close games and found ways to win.”
Heritage (12-12, 1-8) gave the Rebels another close game thanks in large part to Calvin Keeble’s 28 points.
Maryville was led in scoring by T.D. Blackmon’s 19 points.
“I thought we played pretty well,” Eldridge said. “I thought Heritage shot it really well. We defended well. They just made shots. I thought Heritage was up to the challenge. They made big plays all night.”
Maryville was coming off a 64-60 win at Bearden on Tuesday night. The Rebels play host to Hardin Valley Academy (12-8, 7-2) Tuesday.
Dave Link is a freelance contributor.
