33bigorange

Hats off to Summertown and Frank Hughes. They have done something that's hard to do, and that's come from lower seed bracket and fight their way to the championship game. I think some are underestimating this districts strength. Time will tell on how the teams will do, but it would not surprise me if we have 2 sub state teams come out of this district. I think they will do well in those matchups as well. The think I like about this district is that these teams will get after you defensively. If you play a good brand of defense, you can be in any game that you play, even if you are an average offensive team. I hope Loretto can get their big 6 ft post player (Burden) back in action, they missed her last night and the senior guard (Brodie) who was out with the flu. Coaches for Summertown and Frank Hughes, congrats on a job well done.

Collinwood over Summertown 6 points Wayne County over Frank Hughes 5 points Perry county over Collinwood 10 points Loretto over Waynesboro 8 points Upset pick of this tournament Loretto over Perry County Two close games against each other 6 points and 3 points in OT. I think Loretto will win this one by 5. It will be a defensive battle.

I think it is in Mount Pleasant, but it should have been in the new gym at Columbia Academy. I don't know why they wouldn't use this great facility.

Big wins by Loretto and Summertown last night. The district bracket is set and now it's just about getting it on. I know Perry Co and Loretto are glad they have byes into this tournament and the regional. The elimination games will be tough. You would think that Wayne Co and Collinwood will win, but you'd better not go to sleep on Summertown or Frank Hughes. This should be a really good district 12 tournament. I'm looking forward to watching these games.

This district will get really interesting in upcoming games. I do believe the Loretto girls are starting to round into form. I think they are gettinguse to Coach Rutledge's system and the 2 seniors back after laying off a year are starting to round into form. There wasn't a lot of scoring experience from last year, so some of the younger kids are starting to step it up some in that area. Perry County is playing solid ball and showing no signs of weakening. Wayne County and Collinwood are playing well and can get a win at any time. I know Wayne Co. lost their best player during the Collinwood game and this hurt them against Perry County. I'm not sure when she'll be back, but this will hurt them. They have Loretto Tuesday night, so it should get interesting.

Loretto has struggled in 2 tough district games to finish. They are playing 5 underclassmen with little or no high school experience, Burden and Brodie have been out of basketball a year. They are trying to learn a different system. I'm trying to look at a finished product, and if they get there, they'll be fine. Right now Loretto needs more games under their belts. I really don't see a lot of difference in the top 4 or 5 district teams. They are all good teams that could win the district tournament. It's going to be fun to see how this thing shakes out.

There's no question that district 7-AAA is one of the states best, but I do know there's talent in this district. Lawrence County would be my pick to win the district this year. They have had talent, but it's been a very young team these past 2 years. I think this could be their year to make that jump and I hope Coach Porter can move them forward and make them relevant again.

District 12 will be a meat grinder. There will be some great games between some really good teams. Perry County may be the sleeper team. Collinwood and Wayne County will always bring some strong girls basketball and set the bar. Summertown has a strong roster. Loretto is young in some areas and will be learning a new system, but with the return of Rachael Burden it will give them a strong presence at the post position. The Sirmones girl will be one of the districts best. I think the Franks girl for Summertown will be one to watch. Frank Hughes will be a spoiler and help determine who wins the district. This is a very tough district with some very good coaches. This should be an interesting year.

You can now add Columbia Academy to that list. Coach Helton has accepted a head coaching job at Mars Hill in Florence, Alabama. She hated leaving her girls, but is getting married and her future husband lives down there.

I think Coach Helton at Columbia Academy is a very good up and coming coach. She showed she can coach up her players and handle herself in game situations. If she can continue to coach up and get some talent, I think she can bring CA up the ladder. She played alot of freshman and her 8th grader this past year, so we'll see what happens. If she can bring back all of her players I think 2009-10 could be a turning point for this program. We may see CA come up from the bottom of the heap in this very tough district. /thumb[1].gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":thumb:" border="0" alt="thumb[1].gif" /> Good luck to Coach Helton and players for next season.

The CA-Richland was close going into the 4th quarter (34-28). Both teams hit several 3's. CA had about 5-6 threes and Richland had a few more than that. I know you questioned CA's desire to play, but they played hard all 4 quarters until the final buzzer. This team has not really put 4 quarters together against a good team until last night. They are playing alot of freshman and a 8th grader. Coach Helton seems to be developing some chemistry and toughness on this team. Abby Davis lead CA with 13, Lacy Hayes had 11, and the other scoring was spread out among 5 other players. I think the coach has settled on a 8 man rotation. If they continue to play hard and take care of the ball, this is starting to look like a team that could surprise some teams next year. Their starting lineup will be 2 seniors, 2 sophomores, and 1 freshman for next years group and there should be a few good reserves that are either freshman or sophomores this year. You do a good job on your posts and I enjoy reading them.

CA was down 19-0 a little past middle of 2nd quarter. This team has been starting slow most of the season. The younger players are looking better. When they were looking good in the 3rd quarter they had 4 freshman and 1 junior on the floor. They played pretty even once they got on the board. I would start playing more of the underclassman to build chemistry for next season. These baby dogs, with there rookie coach, should grow some teeth by next year to help give them a bite to win some more games and compete with the top teams (did not say they would win but compete). They are still 2 years away from making a run to the top.

The Richland-Cornersville was a shock. The CA-Culleoka was a slugfest. CA got behind too much in the 1st quarter and the won the last 3. It's a really young team and this should pay dividends for next season. Two starters were out for CA and that did not help. Richland and Moore could be making their moves to win this district. It should be interesting the rest of the way out................. /popcorneater.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":popcorneater:" border="0" alt="popcorneater.gif" />

CA beat a St Louis team by 21 the other nite in Jackson. They played the best team in the tournament the 1st night and finished up losing to a Kentucky team by 15 for the final game (46-31). They were down 17-0 in the 1st quarter of that game and got it to 7 in the 4th. Very young team, that when they cut down on mistakes, can look pretty good. CA plays 5-6 freshman that have some talent, but there's growing pains when doing it. Young coach, young team, equals tough year. I will say they are looking better as the year progresses, but they need to cut down on mistakes. With that said I do think they will compete well with Culleoka, even though it's at their gym.

CA lost it's top point guard to a winter soccer travel team. She was super quick (Lauren Lomax). I think you'll see CA play with several freshman this year. I think Coach Helton is trying to season this group for not only this year, but the next several. They have a play day on the 22nd at Culleoka. It should be fun to watch this talent grow, since there are several freshman that show they have talent. They'll just need to grow some fangs as the season progresses. : /hungry.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":hungry:" border="0" alt="hungry.gif" /> That is with the talented teams in this district.