It’s tournament time (Part 2)
Lady Wildcats hold perfect district record
Postseason play begins this week for area high school basketball teams. The Oak Ridge Lady Wildcats will enter tournament play as one of the state’s hottest squads.
ORHS has won two consecutive games and 15 of its last 16 contests.
The Lady Wildcats closed out the regular season portion of their schedule with a 63-27 victory over Fulton Saturday night at Jody Wright Arena in North Knoxville.
Oak Ridge (18-9) posted a dominant performance against the Lady Falcons after opening a 12-8 lead in the first quarter.
The Lady Wildcats crashed the boards, coming up with 15 offensive rebounds against Fulton (11-18).
Defense was also solid for Oak Ridge, as the Lady Wildcats held Fulton to 29 percent from the field and forced the Lady Falcons into 19 turnovers with a stifling pressure defense.
“Most of the game, our defense was really good,” Oak Ridge Coach Paige Taylor said. “Our press was really effective and we played really good half-court defense.”
Offensively, the Lady Wildcats boasted a potent and balanced scoring attack as Ze’Yana Stewart, a sophomore, scored 22 points. She posted a double-double as she also grabbed 11 rebounds. Stewart also sparked on the defensive end as she came up with four steals.
Stewart was 7-for-12 from the field and 7-for-10 from the free-throw line despite being on the bench throughout the second quarter as she was saddled with foul trouble.
While Stewart sat, Oak Ridge took control of the contest as it went on an 18-2 run.
Kannon Green scored 13 points and Ayana Porter scored 10 points and recorded five rebounds, while Dimitria Strickland scored nine points on the strength of three 3-pointers.
Oak Ridge defeated Clinton on the road Thursday as it captured a 65-40 victory over the Lady Dragons on a night honored late assistant coach Craig Dixon, who passed away during the offseason.
The Lady Wildcats lost their first game of the 2023 calendar year when they dropped a 68-52 decision to Alcoa at home on Monday, Feb. 6.
Next up for the Lady Wildcats is the District 3-4A Tournament. Oak Ridge (10-0 in league play) is the top seed in the tournament, which will be contested at Powell High School’s Jeff Hunter Gymnasium.
The Lady Wildcats have a first-round bye and have qualified for the Region 2-4A Tournament, will play Thursday night against either Knoxville Central or Campbell County with tipoff slated for 7:30.