Ooltewah lost against Cleveland back in January of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Monday. The Ooltewah Owls came up short against the Cleveland Blue Raiders, falling 64-40. While losing is never fun, the Owls can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 184th, while the Blue Raiders are ranked 33rd).
Despite the defeat, Ooltewah saw an underclassman step up: freshman Aleigha Taylor posted 20 points. What's more, Taylor also posted a 60% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest she's achieved since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Allie Tipton, who put up eight points and five boards.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Cleveland to victory, but perhaps none more so than Lauren Hurst, who went 6-for-13 en route to 16 points along with five rebounds and five blocks. The contest was Hurst's third in a row with at least 16 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Emma Smith, who shot 50% from the field on her way to 13 points in addition to five boards and four steals.
Ooltewah's loss was their third straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 16-17. As for Cleveland, they are on a roll lately: they've won 17 of their last 20 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 24-7 record this season.
Ooltewah does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Cleveland, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next game, a 79-23 defeat against Bradley Central on the 5th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
