Tri-County Seven

[coachh17]

We are now down to the final two weeks of the regular season. The rankings stay stable at the top and the bottom three remain unchanged. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th spots have changed again. I hope all our teams finish strong and stay healthy heading into the District tournaments.

 

1.Elizabethton-AA-(23-0)- It appears that an undefeated regular season is a real possibility now. However, the #1 Lady Cyclones travel to Hampton Tuesday and host Unicoi Co. Friday. They also have a home game with South Greene and finish on the road at CAK. The four seniors are the 6th consecutive Elizabethton class that has won 100 games in their career. One game at a time.

 

2.Unicoi Co.-AA-(16-5)- The Lady Devils have righted the ship and are playing well as evidenced by their thrashing of Cloudland. They will be tested by Morristown West on Monday at home and travel to Elizabethton on Friday. Will be a factor in the Region tournament.

 

3.Cloudland-A-(15-5)- Schedule is catching up to the young Lady Landers. Lost to two tough AA opponents this week in South Greene and Unicoi Co. Home against N. Greene Friday and have a home game against Hampton looming. All these tough games late should have them battle tested for the tournaments.

 

4.Hampton-A-(15-6)- Humming right along. I still think this team may be the best A team in Region 1, but they will get their chance to prove it on the court. Host Elizabethton Tuesday in a rivalry game for pride.

 

5.Happy Valley-AA-(9-7)- Barely beat Sullivan North. May be able to finish 3rd in the conference.

 

6.Unaka-A-(7-16)- Disappointing loss to University High. The losses are piling up and this team does not appear to be capable of competing with Hampton, Cloudland, and N. Greene. Maybe they can play spoiler and pull a late season upset.

 

7.Johnson Co.-AA-(0-18)- They are still holding together, though there have been no wins. It is all about building character and beginning to build a foundation for the future in Mountain City this year.

[dare]

I agree with the rankings. Unicoi is playing better. Beat morristown west tonight, 53 to 46. Was down 19 to 12 at end of 1st. Tied at 25 at the half.

[etownsparky]

Betsy beat Hampton tonight 54-43. Neither team played their best although I thought Hampton played a good second half. Betsy definitely didn't perform like the #1 team in the state tonight. Will have to do better to win Friday night against an improving Unicoi team...

[etownsparky]

Big game at Betsy tomorrow night. Unicoi comes to town and the TRC crown is on the line. If Betsy wins, they clinch. If Unicoi wins then it will likely result in a tie between the two as they both have 1 other conference game against bottom teams. Go Lady Cyclones!

[coachh17]

Word is that Emily Edwards, arguably Unicoi's best player, is out 4 weeks with mono. If true, that may do the Lady Devils in.

[etownsparky]

Betsy handled the Lady Blue Devils tonight 73-36 to clinch the TRC regular season crown. Regardless of the outcome at Sullivan North next Friday, the Lady Cyclones take first place with the win tonight. To be fair, Unicoi was missing the Edwards kid who I believe is easily their best player. Although her presence would have affected the final margin, the result would have been the same. Chelsea Bowling and Lindsey Norris played exceptional while Cara Bowling played a solid game as well. The others contributed mainly through assists, rebounds and defense. Next up will be a tough game for senior night next Tuesday as South Greene comes to town. Go Lady Cyclones!

[THE KING]

The Lady Landers are definitely learning some things as a young team. Playing against the Noth Greene's, Unicoi's, S. Greene's and Chuckey Doak's will prepare this young team for next season. Even though they have lost, these freshmen have proven they can play with the area's best only one year removed from eighth grade.

[screenandroll]

Betsy handled the Lady Blue Devils tonight 73-36 to clinch the TRC regular season crown. Regardless of the outcome at Sullivan North next Friday, the Lady Cyclones take first place with the win tonight. To be fair, Unicoi was missing the Edwards kid who I believe is easily their best player. Although her presence would have affected the final margin, the result would have been the same. Chelsea Bowling and Lindsey Norris played exceptional while Cara Bowling played a solid game as well. The others contributed mainly through assists, rebounds and defense. Next up will be a tough game for senior night next Tuesday as South Greene comes to town. Go Lady Cyclones!

 

When is the last time Unicoi has had the mercy rule placed on them? Have they ever before? Unicoi was missing a key player but this program is no where near what it once was. I know talent runs in cycles but this program has dropped quickly. Now give Elizabethton credit, they played extremely well. Ch. Bowling is playing at a Division one level. The rest of the team is also playing at a high level. L Norris has proven you don't have to be 6 foot to be a good post. Elizabethton is by far the best team in the area. Everyone has said Science Hill would give the Cyclones a game but seeing their score with Greenville it doesn't look like it. Can't see anyone giving Elizabethton trouble until the state tournament except Elizabethton.

[victory]

When is the last time Unicoi has had the mercy rule placed on them? Have they ever before? Unicoi was missing a key player but this program is no where near what it once was. I know talent runs in cycles but this program has dropped quickly. Now give Elizabethton credit, they played extremely well. Ch. Bowling is playing at a Division one level. The rest of the team is also playing at a high level. L Norris has proven you don't have to be 6 foot to be a good post. Elizabethton is by far the best team in the area. Everyone has said Science Hill would give the Cyclones a game but seeing their score with Greenville it doesn't look like it. Can't see anyone giving Elizabethton trouble until the state tournament except Elizabethton.

 

It is interesting that you reference Science Hill's game with Greeneville as your reason why Science Hill would not give Elizabethton a good game. In Elizabethton's first game with Greeneville they struggled throughout the game, falling behind early and having to win the game in the fourth quarter. This is similar to Science Hill's game with Greeneville on Saturday night. It would also be interesting to get your take as to why Elizabethton will not play Science Hill even though Science Hill has tried to schedule them for the last 3 years, even to the point of Elizabethton refusing to play them on a neutral floor at Happy Valley on 2 different occassions.

[screenandroll]

It is interesting that you reference Science Hill's game with Greeneville as your reason why Science Hill would not give Elizabethton a good game. In Elizabethton's first game with Greeneville they struggled throughout the game, falling behind early and having to win the game in the fourth quarter. This is similar to Science Hill's game with Greeneville on Saturday night. It would also be interesting to get your take as to why Elizabethton will not play Science Hill even though Science Hill has tried to schedule them for the last 3 years, even to the point of Elizabethton refusing to play them on a neutral floor at Happy Valley on 2 different occassions.

 

I looked at the 15+ win they had over Greeneville when they were at full strength. You could never be sure who would win just speculation with comparing recent games. As for who refused to play who that's speculation also. Happy Valley sets those games. Teams don't pick their own opponents. Don't get me wrong, Science Hill has a really good team but if both teams played to their level Elizabethton has the better team. My opinion.

Edited February 7, 2011 by screenandroll

[victory]

I looked at the 30+ win they had over Greeneville when they were at full strength. You could never be sure who would win just speculation with comparing recent games. As for who refused to play who that's speculation also. Happy Valley sets those games. Teams don't pick their own opponents. Don't get me wrong, Science Hill has a really good team but if both teams played to their level Elizabethton has the better team. My opinion.

 

Not sure where you are getting the Elizabethton 30+ win over Greeneville. According to the scores on CoachT Elizabethton beat Greeneville by 10 and 16. That is not even 30 points if you combine the 2 games. As for the situation at Happy Valley you are right that those games are set by Happy Valley. When the original schedule for the Thanksgiving games at Happy Valley came out it had Science Hill and Elizabethton scheduled to play on Friday night. Only after Elizabethton complained about the schedule did it get changed so that they did not have to play Science Hill, so it is not speculation on who does not want to play.

[etownsparky]

I looked at the 30+ win they had over Greeneville when they were at full strength. You could never be sure who would win just speculation with comparing recent games. As for who refused to play who that's speculation also. Happy Valley sets those games. Teams don't pick their own opponents. Don't get me wrong, Science Hill has a really good team but if both teams played to their level Elizabethton has the better team. My opinion.

I think SH and EHS would be a good match up - one that I would have liked to see. Although it's fun to compare games against common teams, those are not always valid comparisons because of individual match-ups. I think Greeneville's size in the post presents problems for both EHS and SH. I'm not sure the real story behind the Happy Valley tournament schedule this year. However, the reason for not scheduling SH the previous two years during the regular season had to do with EHS's boys not wanting to play rather than the girls. Personally, I think it's a rivalry that is good for both programs and would be a good gate for EHS, but I'm not the AD so my opinion doesn't count for much. Since we are speculating though, I would give the edge to EHS this year, especially on a neutral court. If both teams were at the top of their game, I think the more experienced team would likely come out on top.

Edited February 7, 2011 by etownsparky