Lady ‘Cats are district champs
The Lady Wildcats (20-7) won their third consecutive District 3-4A Championship as they defeated Campbell County, 49-31, Monday night at Knox Central High School. With the win over the Lady Cougars, ORHS completed a second straight perfect run through their district regular-season and tournament schedule.
Oak Ridge opened tournament play with a big first half in the semifinals, but a postseason halftime lead, no matter how large, is never big enough to take for granted. And that’s just what Oak Ridge High School girls basketball coach Paige Taylor told her team midway through the district tournament semifinals Thursday night.
“We were up by 20 points at halftime and a 20-point lead is never enough,” Taylor said after the Lady Wildcats beat Knoxville Halls, 72-31, in the semifinals of the District 3-4A Girls Basketball Tournament at Knox Central High School. “Halls was down 15 against Powell (in a first-round elimination game on Tuesday, Feb. 13) and they came back and won the game.”
The Lady Devils, the tournament’s No. 5 seed earned the right to play No. 1 Oak Ridge thanks to a second-half rally that netted them a 56-55 victory over the fourth-seeded Lady Panthers and a berth in the upcoming Region 2-AAA Tournament, which gets underway Friday.
The Lady Wildcats opened a 20-8 lead in the first quarter. They would extend their advantage to 40-20 by halftime.
After allowing 20 points to the Lady Devils (11-19) in the first half, the Lady Wildcats surrendered just 11 points the rest of the way.
Oak Ridge held Halls without a field goal over the final eight minutes, surrendering just two points in the fourth quarter.
Oak Ridge, conversely, had no trouble manufacturing offense. The Lady Wildcats boasted a potent and balanced offensive attack as they had four players post double figures in the scoring column. Junior guard Ze’Yana Stewart scored 17 of her 19 points in the first half.
Ayana Porter led all scorers with 20 points, including 12 after halftime. Jenna Johnson added 11 points and had seven in the second half, while Euleesha Mitchell finished with 10, including six after the break.
The Lady Devils were only to stay as close as they did because Olivia Culp knocked down four 3-pointers, including three long-range jumpers before halftime. Culp, one of the area’s top shooters, scored 14 points. Biliter had eight points for Halls, which won the third-place game over Karns Monday night.
The Lady Wildcats will host William Blount Friday at 7 p.m.
