Lady Dragons beat Central, but can’t get by Oak Ridge
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Lady Dragon Naiyah Sanders leans back to shoot past Oak Ridge’s Semaj Clark. - Collin Riggs
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Jaz Moore jumps for a rebound against Oak Ridge. - Collin Riggs
Clinton High School’s Lady Dragons had a one kitten limit during the Distrct 3-AAA Tournament.
They beat the Lady Bobcats of Central, but couldn’t get past the Lady Wildacts of Oak Ridge.
The Lady Dragons travelled to Oak Ridge High School for their second game of the district tournament after beating Anderson County on Monday, Feb. 17. Their opponents were the Lady Bobcats. The game ended in Clinton’s favor with a final score of 58-47.
It was a rough start for the Lady Dragons as Central took an early lead in the first quarter. Unfortunately for the Lady Bobcats, that was the only time throughout the entire game they held the position. The Lady Dragons, once they found their footing, kept a solid lead for the rest of the game.
The Lady Dragons beat out the Lady Bobcats in effective field goal percentage, going for 39-percent to the Lady Bobcats’ 31-percent. Actually, Central made over double the two-point baskets that Clinton did, going 16 to Clinton’s paltry six, but Clinton made four times as many treys throughout the game, finish-
ing with eight treys to Central’s two. Still, with threes alone, it wouldn’t have been enough for the Lady Dragons to pull out a win, since they couldn’t keep Central out of the paint. No, what gave the Lady Dragons the win, ultimately, was free throws.
Central had 15 free throws throughout the game, and they made nine, while Clinton had an astounding 32 free
throws, and made 22. It could be stated with a fair amount of certainty that Central’s fouls cost them the game, not only because of the points themselves, but also because it continued to break the Lady Bobcats’ momentum in a game
where the Lady Bobcats heavily relied on points in the paint.
Sarah Burton continued her strong streak, leading the Lady Dragons with 27 points, including four treys and a whopping 13 rebounds. On top of that, she also came away with three assists, three of the team’s six steals, and two deflections. Behind Burton, Naiyah Sanders kept her place as the team’s second, pulling in 14 points for the team, including two treys and eight rebounds. Sanders was especially hot on defense, deflecting the ball six times across the entirety of the game.
Another notable standout for the game was Kimora Harris, who, despite only a single point, grabbed seven rebounds for the Lady Dragons with only a single foul, the lowest of the team. Alayjah Whitt also had a good night, with two treys and three assists.
The Lady Dragons started strong against the Lady Wildcats in the semi-finals thanks to a handful of three-pointers from Burton.
AFter taking a 16-9 lead in the first quarter the Lady Dragons ran into foul trouble and the Lady Wildcats started heating up. The Lady Dragons would lose 77-45.