7AAA

[PHargis]

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[PHargis]

Warren county played Dekalb County in Smithville tonite (Thought it was last Sat. nite) haven't got a score.

[PHargis]

SPORTS

 

 

 

Awards pile up for Lady Cavs

Craig Delk

Herald-Citizen Sports Editor

Monday, Feb 16, 2009

 

click to view gallery

COOKEVILLE -- The accolades and awards are still flowing for the Cookeville High girls basketball team. And if those are any indication, the Lady Cavaliers could be in for a successful postseason.

 

In the pre-tournament meeting of District 7-AAA's coaches, the Lady Cavs racked up several awards, including co-coach of the year, two players on the first team, one on the third and another honorable mention.

 

Mindy Odom, who picked up her 400th win while leading the CHS girls to the regular season title, was honored along with Blackman coach Chad Hibdon.

 

"It's a great honor, because there's so many great coaches in our district," Odom said. "I know it helps to win the district to get the votes, but Chad Hibdon got it with me and he's done a great job this year. It's just a great honor."

 

Picking up first-team all-district honors were senior center Erin Helton and sophomore guard Tationia Johnson.

 

Helton was the team's leading scorer (16.3 ppg) and rebounder (7.5 rpg), while Johnson was second in both categories (12.3 ppg, 4.7 ppg).

 

"I'm so proud for them," Odom said. "And when the other coaches do the voting, you know they respect your players that much."

 

Joining them on the first team were Riverdale freshman forward Shacobie Barbee (14.4 ppg), Siegel sophomore guard Shanice Cason (15 ppg, 5 apg) and Blackman junior guard Shelby Campbell (14 ppg).

 

Lebanon senior post Icelyn Elie (19 ppg, 8 rpg) was chosen the District 7-AAA MVP.

 

The second team includes Riverdale junior guard Jaclissa Haislip (16.7 ppg), White County senior forward Lacy Yslas (12.5 ppg), Lebanon sophomore forward Marissa Jennings (9 ppg, 4 rpg), Blackman senior guard T'Anna Overton (6 ppg) and Siegel junior wing Caralisa Connell (13 ppg, 7 rpg).

 

Lady Cavaliers senior point guard Kelsey Odle (5.4 ppg, 3.4 apg) earned a nod on the third team.

 

"I was real proud of Kelsey Odle and happy for her to get on the all-district third team," Odom said. "She's such a presence for us and does so much for us that's not seen in the stats. You like to see a kid like that get rewarded."

 

Joining Odle on the third team were Riverdale sophomore guard Ashley Henry (6.6 ppg), White County junior forward Tasha Delaney (8.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg), Blackman sophomore guard Kelsey Nowlin (8 ppg), Oakland junior forward Hayley Randolph (7.1 ppg) and Warren County junior post Tessa King.

 

A fourth Lady Cav, sophomore guard Julie Brooks, was named honorable mention all-district.

 

"She's come a long ways, and I hope she continues to improve and get tough," Odom said of Brooks, who averaged 7.7 points per game and knocked down 44 3-pointers.

 

Also chosen honorable mention were Oakland's Rickee Roper, Blackman's Lauren Dorsett and LaDonna Bailey, Lebanon's McKenzie Lamberson, White County's Ashley Page and Heather Roberts, and Siegel's Kelsey Naish.

 

The Cookeville boys were not without their award-winners. The Cavaliers landed a player on the first, second and third teams as well as an honorable mention.

 

Senior guard Judah Akers (21.5 ppg, 2.9 apg) was named to the first team, joining Oakland junior forward Jamal Hughes (20 ppg, 7 rpg) and senior post Tyler Edwards (14 ppg, 6 rpg), Lebanon senior point guard Xavier Smith and White County senior point guard Stewart Mitchell (14.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.9 apg).

 

"Judah has gotten better every year," CHS boys coach Kevin Bray said. "Here in his senior year, he's just really had a great year to be averaging over 21 points a game, and just all the leadership and experience he brings. He's just really been a good player this year."

 

Multi-talented junior forward Kerry Hammonds III of Siegel was named the district MVP.

 

Cookeville junior guard Mitchell Hill (14 ppg, 6.5 apg) was named to the second team.

 

"He handles the ball so much and just sort of runs things," Bray said. "He hasn't shot near as many shots the last half of the season as he did the first half, but a lot of the things that don't get noticed as much or are not on the stat sheet, he's doing better at. That's as much a part of winning games as what it on the stat sheet."

 

Hill was joined by Blackman junior guard Shawn Smith (9.6 ppg), Siegel junior guard Marc Gooch, Riverdale freshman center Vari Craig (13 ppg, 9 rpg) and Lebanon senior forward Casey Nunley.

 

On the third team from Cookeville was senior forward Kyle Wylie (12.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg), who increased his role for the Cavaliers over the course of the season.

 

"For the first time in his career, Kyle is playing with confidence," Bray said. "He's shooting with confidence, so he's shooting a lot better. He's playing a lot better. He's really turned it on in rebounding as well the last few weeks. Kyle is a very athletic player, but he's just now starting to scratch the surface of his potential. His best basketball is still ahead of him. He's a very young senior, and he's really gotten better all year long and he'll continue to get better."

 

With Wylie on the third team were Siegel junior forward Levon Tate, White County senior guard Corey Johnson (12.7 ppg), Riverdale sophomore guard T.J. Chesterfield (12 ppg) and Blackman junior guard Justin Crutchfield (5.7 ppg).

 

CHS senior guard Taylor Hennigan (6.4 apg, 5.2 ppg, 49 steals) was chosen as an honorable mention.

 

"I thought going in that Taylor would make the all-district team," Bray said. "It turns out, he just missed it I guess and was an honorable mention. Taylor is very, very valuable to us. He's just sort of the heart and soul as far as toughness goes. He's a good passer, he's a good defensive player, he's a good rebounder. He's just a solid all-around player to have on our team.

 

"I was disappointed when he didn't make it, but I didn't know we would have three and I didn't know who it would be," Bray added. "I really hate the fact that Taylor didn't make it. A lot of the miscellaneous things, Taylor does better than anybody else we've got."

 

Also chosen honorable mention were Warren County senior center Kyrie Harris, Lebanon senior guard Robert Crudup, Siegel junior guard Dominick Nicholas and junior forward T.J. Mitchell.

 

Oakland's Randy King was named the district coach of the year.

 

Correction

 

It was incorrectly reported in Sunday's HERALD-CITIZEN that Monterey's girls basketball team did not have any representation on the All-District 7-A team. Senior Brittany Sells and junior Bethany Paschal were named to the honorable mention squad.

[PHargis]

This article is out of the Cookeville paper describing the Tournament

On the girls side, before the top-seeded Lady Cavaliers (20-7, 12-2) can do what is predicted of them, they must first take care of business in the first two rounds. Their first challenge is Thursday night at 7 p.m. against No. 8 Warren County (4-20, 0-14), which they have beaten 49-31 and 69-39.

 

???Thursday night, I want us to come out with intensity,??? girls coach Mindy Odom said. ???I want us to come out with what we??™re gonna play with in the rest of the tournaments. You can??™t overlook anybody. I know Warren County is capable of shooting the ball very well, and we need to come out and show the intensity that we??™re gonna show throughout the tournament. We talked about that a lot (after Friday??™s loss to Lebanon). You hope they respond.???

 

Opposite Cookeville on the top side of the bracket is No. 4 Lebanon (10-13, 7-7) against No. 5 White County (20-8, 7-7). The Devilettes ??” overwhelmingly picked as the team that could surprise ??” were No. 6 in the district until beating Cookeville on Friday to move up to No. 4 for a home contest.

 

LHS is led by senior post Icelyn Elie (19 ppg, 8 rpg), the District 7-AAA MVP, and sophomore forward Marissa Jennings (9 ppg, 4 rpg). The Warriorettes, who started 18-2, have a balanced attack including starters Lacy Yslas, Keishia Daniels, Heather Roberts, Ashley Page and Tasha Delaney.

 

In the No. 3/No. 6 matchup, Blackman hosts Siegel. The Lady Blaze (15-7, 10-4) turned out to be the surprise team of the regular season, led by junior point guard Shelby Campbell (14 ppg) and sophomore guard Kelsey Nowlin (8 ppg).

 

The Lady Stars (15-11, 7-7), on the other hand, have some of the best young talent in the district, including sophomore point guard Shanice Cason (15 ppg, 5 apg) and junior wing Caralisa Connell (13 ppg, 7 rpg).

 

The No. 2-No. 7 contest pits Riverdale ??” which received several nods as a team that could win the title ??” against Oakland. Junior guard Jaclissa Haislip (16.7 ppg) leads the Lady Warriors (23-4, 11-3) in scoring, followed closely by freshman forward Cobie Barbee (14.4 ppg). Meanwhile, the Lady Patriots (6-20, 2-12) have struggled to score points, having tallied less than 40 on 16 occasions.

[PHargis]

Late run not enough for Eaglettes

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

By Gary Johnson

 

 

Shelbyville's Shan Scott (22) hauls in a rebound over Riverdale's Jessica Azor.

(T-G Photo by Gary Johnson)

[Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

MURFREESBORO -- You can look at Shelbyville Central's 56-51 loss at Riverdale two different ways.

It could be a disappointing loss that closed out the regular season or a disappointing loss that the team can learn from going into the postseason.

 

Coach Lynn Burkey takes the positive spin.

 

"It's tournament time and everything we've done up to this point really doesn't matter, except what we've learned and the hard work that we done," he said. "If we learn anything from this loss, I hope these girls realize what we can accomplish if we go out and play hard the entire game.

 

"Right now, everybody's at square one and that's a good thing for our team I think. We need to go out and earn it every night, and if we do that as a team I think we can achieve some hopes and dreams these girls have."

 

It's fair to say that if the Eaglettes played the entire game like they did the final half of the fourth quarter the outcome might have been entirely different.

 

Shelbyville (20-8) just couldn't get it going for most of the game.

 

The Lady Warriors (24-4) jumped out to a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and posted a 32-25 advantage at halftime.

 

Riverdale scored seven unanswered points at the start of the third stanza and increased the lead to 43-31 going into the fourth quarter.

 

 

Senior Hannah Dawson scores over a pair of Riverdale defenders.

(T-G Photo by Gary Johnson)

[Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Trailing 47-33 with 7:12 left in the game, the Eaglettes finally woke up with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes, but the Lady Warriors cashed in on 7-of-10 free throws the final 2:29 to secure the victory.

 

"Our shots just weren't falling, especially early in the game, but I was very disappointed with our defense in the first half," Burkey said, "We just didn't make good decisions on defense and that wasn't our normal defensive effort."

 

Riverdale's Jaclissa Haislip led all scorers with 16 points, Ashley Henry followed with 15 and Shacobia Barbee 10.

 

Ceny Phelps and Hannah Dawson paced Shelbyville with 13 points each. Callisha Johnson joined in double figures with 11.

 

The Eaglettes play in the District 8-AAA semifinals Saturday afternoon in Tullahoma at 4 against Thursday night's Lincoln County/Columbia winner.

[riverdaleman]

I do not usually get into the individual awards nor do i usually argue with them but I am truely SHOCKED THAT JACLISSA HAISLIP DID NOT GET FIRST TEAM all district I am very surprised by this and a little disappointed...I am happy with shacobie barbie she is very deserving as well

congrats to all those that made it

[RespectallFearnone]

I do not usually get into the individual awards nor do i usually argue with them but I am truely SHOCKED THAT JACLISSA HAISLIP DID NOT GET FIRST TEAM all district I am very surprised by this and a little disappointed...I am happy with shacobie barbie she is very deserving as well

congrats to all those that made it

 

Aren't these awards voted on by the coaches in the district? I'm guessing one or two coaches votes may have been swayed by the controversy surrounding this player and her coach. Too bad for the player, IMO definitely worthy of first team all district.

[Indian]

Late run not enough for Eaglettes

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

By Gary Johnson

 

 

 

Can you post links with a paragraph or two of the story, instead of posting the whole story (copyrights). Thanks.

[PHargis]

You are correct on copyrights. However, for at least the second year in a row, the Murfreesboro Newspaper is reluctant to acknowledge the All District players nor the MVP of the District and we commend the Cookeville Newspaper for it's perception that the recognition was news worthy. There were three teams of District recognitions along with the honorable mentions and a MVP of the Districts. With four teams playing in 7AAA, this is a glaring omission. Wonder what will happen next year.

[KeeperFan15]

You are correct on copyrights. However, for at least the second year in a row, the Murfreesboro Newspaper is reluctant to acknowledge the All District players nor the MVP of the District and we commend the Cookeville Newspaper for it's perception that the recognition was news worthy. There were three teams of District recognitions along with the honorable mentions and a MVP of the Districts. With four teams playing in 7AAA, this is a glaring omission. Wonder what will happen next year.

 

Now that the HS sports editor is from Nashville, won't even be mentioned after the fact.

[Mr. Walton]

Tournament time is here. I'm not sure there has been a Tournament that will be as hotly contested as the one this year. Circumstances throughout the district will mean rivalries will be high and since this is the last year the District will be configured like it is, schoolsnow will try to make a statement concering this last Tournament. IMO, very few schools think they don't have a chance to win it all and be one of the four schools that will go to the Region from this

District and compete with District 8 for the Region 4 Title. Its the time of year that those who are seniors realize its the last 7AAA Tournament they will play in and for those underclassman, its for the chance to be able to have bragging rights over the summer during summer league play and have a head start for next years season. For this year its a time for some schools its a time to play in 7AAA for the last time and remember allof the great rivalries with schools and players they have had in the past. And for those which will go on in the District

 

Warren County entered the Season with high expectations with a well regarded senior guard and a group of "young gunners" who had yet to make themselves know to the District but soon the Senior guard went down with a knee injury and left the WC team and fans somewhat dismayed and frustrated because their chances were reduced again this year with the omission of the player. It was tough for a few games but these younger players, Wilkinson, King, Clendenon and others tried to fill in the gaps but again they fell a little short in their play but show great promise for next year and as they go in to 6AAA

 

Oakland continued to have some difficulty this season but though a core of players like Randolph, Roper and Cook would give thema good start and they did. It became this team had defensive talent but had a few problems on the offensive end and it became evident when that jelled, they would do all right. This is today a good team which might possibly give someone a fit in this tournament and will be good to watch.

 

Siegel's seed in the Tournament became surprising after they had battled back from a slow start early in the season and reached fourth in the district and would up tied for fourth place only to be seeded 6th after loosing some games effecting the tiebreaker. This is a very young teams that has good upside with only 2 seniors and two bery good players in Cason an Connell who carried the team most of the year. Naish and Chatman got better during the year and an injury mid year to Burns, a top notch defensive specialist and Senior, did hurt the Stars effort. If they are hot, there is talent to cause some schools grief in the tournamet.

 

White County had very high expectionsat the first of the year and their record atsome time of theyear seemed to be 11-2 and playing some 8-9 players which would tell youthey were deep. Yslas, Wilson, Delaney, Roberts and others brought White to the forefront but late in the year, injuries kept them frombeing able to keep up the pace of the front runners. This is a team next year that should do well and in this tournament can be surprising because they can be explosive in their play. They are a good defensive team and will fight for a 4th place finish in the region.

 

Lebanon high School was unsure at the beginning of the season how the season would turn out. they had a great player and Athlete Icelyn Elie, one of the twin Towers at LHS and Basketball Signee with MTSU, back and her ability wasknown and they had numerous other players with talent along with a freshman team who had won the District the year before but the only thing missing was their coach that was not back the year before. So with a new coach and some willing players and a true super star IE, the team has had a good season and as Far a s this Tournament is concerned, Lebanon High School always has to be concerned with as long as there is an Elie playing there. Elie, Jennings, Coggins, Stafford and others made the school competitive and if Elie has a monster game, as she is capable, the team plays with about anyone and has the ability to beat any of the top teams. They are a dark horse in the Tournament.

 

Blackman has been good in years past and with one of the best Defensive coaches in the District, when you see them it is evident that is their forte. it has been evident if scoring was there, they would do well. This year, the scorers showed up and the team was led by Campbell, Dorsett, Hall, norris and Nowlin and the Blaze was Hot at the Furnace. While starting a little slow and playing 8-9 players a game, the team did jell and got better most of the year. With the above players playing good and Hall reamaining uninjured, this was a formative team able to beat anyone and likely might upset a school during the Tournament.

 

Riverdale, another one of the teams which lost their Coach last year, came into the year with very high expectations and while they lost one of their main rebounders Clarke, her replacement was certainly capable. Two transfers to riverdale were certainly good additions to the team. They had a good group coming back to help also. Barbee, a freshman, took the rebounder/scorers slot for Clark and along with Haisilip, Lanning, AZor,henry and others developed in to one of the best two schoos in the District. They and Cookeville are both favored to win the 7AAA District Tournament title.

 

Cookeville High School with Coach Mindy Odom, has been leaders in the District in Basketball for a number of years.During those years, the last four,she has had Erin Helton, a 6' plus post player/ rebounder who certainly was a ggreat player and helped her have the record she has. This year Helton, Johnson and Brooks carried Cookeville to its7AAA regular season title. and along ghe way, Coach Odomwhenshe needed brought other players off the bench to help. One of the top teams in the state in Strength of Schedule/Success, cookeville has a good team. It along with Riverdale is favored to win the Tournament and likely the same two is favored to win the Region. riverdale and Cookeville are real rivals and anytime you see there two playing each other, make sure you are ther to see the fireworks.

 

So thats a thumbnail sketch of the District play and tournament and players to watch and it will be a great tournament, one which you will like to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Injuries? Who has been injured?

[spartaman]

Injuries? Who has been injured?

 

the only injury i can think of mr. walton is our coaching strategy. The coaches good decision making skills must have suffered a severe injury, because they havent been with him in a while.