Sequoyah splits with McMinn County in rematch

The Lady Chiefs got off to a good start in the game despite having troubles maneuvering through the McMinn County full court press. Fortunately, some hot shooting from Bailee Lane late in the first quarter pushed Sequoyah out to a 15-6 lead at quarter’s end. Lane netted back-to-back 3 pointers in a 8-0 run to finish the quarter out.

The second quarter saw the turnovers continue to mount but the Lady Chiefs and the Cherokees took full advantage of the opportunities. McMinn County outscored the Lady Chiefs 22-5 in the quarter most of which were directly related to the 19 first half turnovers suffered by Sequoyah. A 3-pointer by Lane and a Mallorie Harrell basket were all the Lady Chiefs could get through the tin the entire quarter and the Cherokees took a 28-20 halftime lead.

McMinn came out in the third quarter and used some hot shooting behind the 3-point arc to push their lead out to 21 at 46-25 but the Lady Chiefs would also catch some fire behind the arc to prompt a 12-0 run to cut the lead back to 9 at 46-37 by the quarter’s end.

Sequoyah never could get any closer, however, and would come up short in the final 57-44.

Sequoyah Chiefs 59, McMinn County Cherokees 49

The Sequoyah turnover bug seemed to be catchy for the Chiefs in the opening frame of the boys’ game as well. Turnovers propelled the home standing Cherokees to a 12 point lead after the first quarter with a pair of Cade Self 3-pointers being the only thing keeping the Chiefs relatively close at 20-8.

The Chiefs would trade points with McMinn throughout the first 5 minutes of the second quarter but turnovers would still keep them from cutting into the lead during that time. John-Douglas Wiggins would score 5 quick points and Self would net 3 free throws late to cut the Chiefs’ deficit to just 4 at halftime 33-29.

The second half the Chiefs opened with quick baskets by Matthew Jump and Randy Kile to tie the game at 33. A few minutes later Kile would net a layup that would give the Chiefs their first lead of the game roughly halfway through the third quarter at 38-36. The remainder of the quarter would be played pretty even but the Chiefs would lead at the end of three periods, 44-40.

Not only would Sequoyah shed the turnover bug in the second half, but they would also create some of their own and then use dribble penetration to create several easy baskets as well. It seemed like they were shooting layup drills all the fourth quarter. They would increase their lead to 10 by the time the final buzzer sounded and the Chiefs left the court on the winning end 59-49.

The Lady Chiefs and Chiefs have an opportunity for revenge on Friday night as they welcome Polk County to the Chop House. They both lost disappointing games at Polk County last month when each team led for the entire game only to see it slip away in the final minutes.