Lady ’Cats run the Dist. 3-4A table
Oak Ridge wins eighth-straight title
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Ze’Yana Stewart, District 3-4A’s tournament Most Valu- able Player, get underneath the hoop during the Lady Wildcats game against Campbell County. - Luthor Simmons Photography
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Lady Wildcats Lindsay Cleveland and a Campbell County player almost collide scram- bling for a ball heading out of bounds. - Luthor Simmons Photography
For the eighth-consecutive year, the Oak Ridge High School Lady Wildcats are district basketball champions.
Oak Ridge clinched its latest crown Monday night as it nabbed the District 3-4A championship with a 65-47 victory over Karns at the Jeff Hunter Gymnasium in Powell.
The win was also Oak Ridge’s 20th of the season, and the championship was the Lady Wildcats’ 30th league title since the full-court era began in 1979.
ORHS (20-9) has not lost to a district opponent this season. It will now turn its attention to the Region 2-4A Tournament. The Lady Wildcats will host Maryville in the regional quarterfinals Friday night at Wildcat Arena.
Tipoff between Oak Ridge and the Lady Rebels (13-19) is slated for 7 p.m.
In Monday’s game, the Lady Beavers, coached by former Oak Ridge assistant Lauren Trent, were competitive. They actually had a 3-2 lead out of the gate before the Lady Wildcats bounced back to take a 14-12 lead by the end of the first quarter.
After pulling ahead, the Lady Wildcats never trailed again.
“I’m so proud of these girls,” Oak Ridge Coach Paige Taylor said. “But we have to beat Maryville. We need to celebrate this one and then get ready for Maryville. If we don’t beat Maryville, then the season is over.
“We’re not here just to win the district championship.”
Oak Ridge, which enters the region tournament having won 17 of its last 18 games, opened a 28-21 advantage by halftime and extended its lead to 43-32 by the end of the third frame.
The Lady Wildcats were able to take control of the game after halftime by keeping one of the area’s top scorers in check as they held Lady Beavers guard Reese Roberts off the scoreboard following the break.
Roberts, who had just five points before halftime, was 0-for-15 from the floor over the final 16 minutes.
Conversely, the Lady Wildcats got a stellar effort from their stars.
Ze’Yana Stewart, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, had a game-high 30 points. Bella Boone, another all-tournament selection, celebrated her birthday by posting a double-double as she scored 11 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. All-tournament selection Ayana Porter also had a double-double as she scored 10 points and dished out 10 assists. Kannon Green also received all-tournament honors as she had eight points against Karns.