Contenders
Lady Mavs prove they are tournament ready
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Anderson County sophomore Addison Bible has become a seasoned veteran of the Lady Mavs’ system during the 2023-24 campaign. - Tony Cox
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Anderson County senior Jaylynn Bullock is fast and court-smart. She’s comfortable passing for an assist or driving hard to the basket. - Tony Cox
When Anderson County High School’s girls basketball team got off to a blazing start Thursday night in the District 4-AAA Tournament semifinals, it looked as though the Lady Mavericks would cruise into this week’s tournament championship game.
Anderson County would reach the title game, but it was anything but easy. The Lady Mavericks would capture a double-digit win, prevailing, 56-43, over Cumberland Gap Thursday night at Scott High School in Huntsville.
ACHS (118-10) outscored the Lady Panthers, 19-5, in the first quarter of the district semifinals and appeared poised to win easily.
Cumberland Gap, however, had other ideas.
The Lady Panthers flipped the script in the second stanza, using an 18-5 run to pull to within 24-23 by halftime.
“We started fast and got out to an 19-5 lead, but then we got into foul trouble, and they went on an 18-5 run and cut it to 24-23 at the half,” ACHS coach Mitch Cupples said. “We won the third quarter by nine.”
The Lady Mavericks never trailed in the final eight minutes.
Macy Basford helped jump start Anderson County early as she scored all 13 of her points before halftime. She was 3-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc in the opening frame. Jaylynn Bullock had a team-high 14 points. Bethany Lowe scored 11 and Addison Grooms finished with seven points.
At press time, Anderson County was set to play for the district tournament championship against crosstown rival and top-seeded Clinton.
Like the Lady Dragons (22-6), the Lady Mavericks were guaranteed a trip to the regional tournament and a home game in Friday night’s elimination quarterfinals.
But a district championship would net Anderson County home court advantage throughout the regionals.
“We’ll get a home game in the first round Friday, and it’s always nice to get to play a postseason game on your home floor and the chance to host the region championship is really big,” Cupples said.