Tennessee: Memphis Central Impressive in Quarterfinal Play

MURFREESBORO - On day two of the girls state tournament on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University, Class AA and AAA No. 1’s Gibson County and Memphis Central, respectively, showed why they have been regarded as the top dogs all season as both had impressive showings and advanced to the semifinals.

South Greene 70, Hume Fogg 52

Costly turnovers for Hume Fogg and deadly shooting by South Greene were the difference in an 18-point game.

Senior shooting guard Megan Casteel and junior point guard Rechelle Dye were the offensive catalysts for South Greene in the first half.

They combined for 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting as the Rebels went on to defeat Hume Fogg 70-52 to advance to the Class AA semifinals.

Hume Fogg (25-6) hadn’t made the state tournament since winning it in 1927 while South Greene was making its 25th state tournament appearance. The experience showed.

The Rebels (30-5) jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead before Hume Fogg responded with its first basket of the game. 

Casteel and Dye hit four 3-pointers in the first half to extend the South Greene lead when Hume Fogg tried to make a run.

The South Greene defense was also trouble for Hume Fogg, forcing 22 for the game including 15 in the first half.

Casteel (18) and Dye (14) led five South Greene players in double figures along with fellow starters Ansley Ricker (11) and Shelby Hicks (10).

Super sub Brandi Crum came off the bench to contribute 10 points for the Rebels. Senior guard Maria Bagwell led Hume Fogg with 20 points.

The Rebels face top-ranked and unbeaten Gibson County Friday at 2:30 in the state semifinals.

Gibson County 69, Bolivar 43

Gibson County didn’t waste any time showing why it has been ranked No. 1 all season.

The Pioneers (33-0) raced out to a 19-7 early thanks to the hot shooting hand of junior guard Heather Butler. She scored 11 of her game-high 27 points during the run on the way to an easy 69-43 win over Bolivar.

They will now face South Greene (30-5) on Friday in the Class AA state semifinals.

Bolivar cut the Gibson County lead to 9-7 before the Pioneers went on a 14-0 run to take a 23-7 lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish.

Gibson County also got 22 points from junior post Aubrey Reedy and a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds from junior Heather Griffin.

Bolivar (25-7) simply didn’t have an answer for Butler, especially in the first half as she scored 20 points.

The Gibson County press forced Bolivar into 31 turnovers which led to 33 points for the Pioneers. Bolivar out-rebounded Gibson County 38-30.

Hillsboro 65, Knoxville Powell 45

Hillsboro junior forward Lakeisha Crouch decided to put her team on her back in the state quarterfinal game against Knoxville Powell.

Crouch had a monster double-double game of 29 points and 22 rebounds to help Hillsboro erase a 26-24 halftime deficit and win 65-45 in the Class AAA state quarterfinals.

Crouch had 11 points and 12 rebounds at halftime but the No. 4 Burros still trailed.

Powell led 32-31 before Crouch took the game over in the third quarter as she scored 10 points in a Hillsboro 13-0 scoring run to take a 44-32 lead.

Powell cut the Hillsboro lead to 44-35 but Hillsboro scored 19 consecutive points to stretch the lead to 63-35.

Senior guard Vacie Perry scored nine of her 15 points during the run and sophomore post Isabelle Harrison added five points as well.

Harrison added 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to join Crouch and Perry in double figures. Brittany Allen led the way for Powell with 25 points.

Hillsboro will face Memphis Overton in the semifinals Friday afternoon.

Memphis Overton 43, Blackman 40

Survive and Advance.

The phrase is used a lot during the state tournament and Overton took it the extreme against Blackman in the Class AAA state quarterfinals.

Blackman (19-12) led Overton until Wolverine sophomore forward Karisma Tyson hit two free throws to give her team its first lead at 39-38 with just 1:32 left in regulation.

Blackman’s Shelby Campbell hit two free throws with a 1:19 left to give the Blaze the lead back at 40-39.

Tyson gave the Wolverines the lead back as she hit a layup with 1:06 left in the game, after a turnover by Blackman, Overton’s Cornelia Fondren converted one of two free throws to up the lead to two at 42-40.

Campbell then missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with seven seconds left in the game and Lakeria Crowder hit a free throw with a second left for the final tally.

Both teams were making their first state tournament appearance

Memphis Central  51, Tennessee High 39

Memphis Central looked every bit of the No. 1 Class AAA team against Tennessee High Thursday afternoon in quarterfinal action.

The Warriors (34-1), ranked No. 21 nationally by ESPN Rise, jumped out to a quick 13-2 lead as they easily disposed of Tennessee High 51-39.

They will play McGavock Friday night in the state semifinals.

Memphis Central, which hasn’t lost to a Tennessee school all season, quickly jumped to a 13-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Warrior defense held Tennessee High to 13. 6 percent shooting from the field in the first half on 3-of-22 shooting and held a comfortable lead at the break, 29-8.

Southeast Louisiana signee Erica Burgess led the Warriors with eight points, while Middle Tennessee State signee Jamila Ajanaku and freshman Danielle Ballard both had six apiece at the break.

Ballard led three in double figures with 15 points, Burgess and another freshman, Aaliyah Whiteside, each had 10 points for the Warriors.

Tennessee High, making its first state tournament appearance in 17 years, didn’t quit despite the large deficit, outscoring Central 17-7 in the fourth quarter. Junior guard Kimberly Wood led the way for THS with 17 points.

McGavock 50, Cookeville 35

After being tied at 15 at halftime, McGavock outscored Cookeville 35-20 in the second half to advance to Friday's semifinal round against No. 1 Memphis Central.

The No. 6-ranked Raiders scored the first five points of the second half to take a 20-15.

Cookeville cut the deficit to five at 32-27, but McGavock quickly pushed the lead to 10 points at the end of the third quarter.

The Cavaliers cut the lead to seven at 42-35 but McGavock put the game away by scoring eight unanswered to finish the game.

Arieyelle O’Neal led McGavock with 16 points while Tanesha Stenson had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Helton led Cookeville with 13 points and rebounds on 6-of-20 shooting, while Tationia Johnson added 12.

Questions? Comments? Contact Donovan at dstew4vu@yahoo.com.