2021-22 Girls TMSAA District Champions
January 24 was district championship night for the 2021-22 middle school basketball season. H.Y. Livesay’s Lady Eagles played the Springdale Lady Owls and in boys’ competition, Livesay and Hancock faced off for the boy’s title.
The Lady Eagles looked like the team to beat all season long and proved it when they won the Claiborne County tournament. Their great play made them the favorite no matter what team they played. Springdale was entering the game hoping to spring the upset. The Lady Eagles scored the basketball early and often leading 30-5 at the half and winning the championship by the final score of 51-13. Leading the way in scoring was Brinkley Hollin with 16. Jenna Middleton had 15, Jaylee Hayes dropped in 10, Jayla Bailey had seven, Kelly Hatfield had two and Morgan Martin had a single point. Springdale was led in scoring by Jacey Ferguson with five, Chloe Cupp had four, Graci Cupp had three and Hope Cole had one point.
The Girl’s All-Tournament Team members included Zoe Pyne, Ebony Hill, Hannah Williams, Chloe Cupp, Jacey Ferguson, Avalynn Cook, Jayla Bailey, Jaylee Hayes, Brinkley Hollin and Jenna Middleton was the Most Valuable Player. Hancock finished fourth, Washburn finished third, Springdale was second and Livesay were the champions.
Girls All-Tournament Team
Lady Owls Second Place
Lady Indians fourth place
The boy’s championship was next and once again it was Livesay celebrating after the game. Kole Carter led the Eagles in scoring with 12 points including four three-pointers. Neil Bunch had four points and one assist. Jonny Wilder dropped in eight points and had two rebounds. Brady Harris also had eight points but had eleven rebounds and three steals. Jed Bailey dropped in two points had four rebounds and finished with three assists. Leading Hancock in scoring was Isaiah Christian-Fodor with a game leading 14, Nason Delph had four and Kingston Eldridge had two. The Boy’s All-Tournament Team included Kolton Goins, Colton Jones, Gabriel Daniels, Nason Delph, Kingston Eldridge, Isaiah Christian-Fodor, Jonny Wilder, Neil Bunch, Jed Bailey, Cole Carter and Brady Harris was the Most Valuable Player. Powell Valley finished fourth, Forge Ridge finished third, Hancock was second place and Livesay were the champions.
2021-22 TMSAA Boys District Champions
Boys All-Tournament Team
Indians second place
Dragons third place
Powell Valley fourth place
Coach Smith had this to say following the game, “I’m so proud of our team for winning a district championship. Hancock is a good basketball team and so well coached. It’s always fun to compete in that matchup. This was a good team victory; all 13 players had a hand in this. Every time we needed a basket, someone stepped up. Kole Carter hit timely shots in the second half. He’s our dagger thrower and he delivered a couple when we needed them.”
Smith continued, “I can’t say enough about Jonny Wilder and Jed Bailey, two eighth graders that led in different ways. Jed stuck his nose in there and made tough plays for us. Jonny was our closer in the fourth quarter. Brady Harris was full of energy all week. Every time we needed a play, he was there. His ability to play 1-4 is unmatched and presents a difficult matchup for opponents.”
Smith added, “Our point guard play was also amazing. Neil Bunch is selfless and does whatever it takes to win. We only averaged nine turnovers a game in this tournament, that will win you a lot of basketball games. But it wasn’t just that group. We don’t win this tournament without Keaton Clawson, Grayson Cook, Gavin Bridges, Eli Reed, Tyler Evans, Cole Honeycutt, Benson Hensley and Lucas Claiborne. Every single player on our roster played a role. They all deserve to be mentioned. They come to work every single day wanting to get better. We will enjoy this for a few days and then I’ll look at tape on possible opponents in Sectionals.”
The Zone must thank Mr. Blake Hopper for the great information and photos as well as our marketing partners for making this coverage possible:
