WCHS Ladycats Take Championship at Smokey Mountain Classic

The Wayne County High School Ladycats and Wildcats spent Dec. 18th - 20th in Gatlinburg competing in the Smokey Mountain Classic basketball tourney. The Ladycats swept their three games to claim the Championship in their bracket, while the 'Cats lost a close 3-point game on the first night, but bounced back to win their other two games. Both teams will be in action at the Moore County Classic on the 29th and 30th before going to Florence on Jan. 3rd to participate in the Grind to Shine Classic. The Ladycats play Shelbyville at 1:00 p.m. Monday with the Wildcats matching up against Cascade. On Tuesday both teams will face the host, Moore County, at 4:00 and 5:30. On the 3rd the Ladycats will face Walnut at 1:00 with the 'Cats taking on Hubbertville at 2:30.

On Thursday, the Ladycats took on a team from Ashland, MS, and dominated from the start, leading 19 – 5 after the first quarter. They won by the final of 43 – 22, with all Ladycats seeing action. Ava Ashley scored 27 points, shooting 71% from the field, and had 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. Presley Daniel scored 9 points and had 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists. Mary-Grace Littleton, Kinsley Miller, and Kylei Thompson each scored 2 points, and Lou Prater added 1 point. Littleton and Miller each had 4 rebounds, while Thompson and Prater each had 2 steals. Kate Brison had 2 rebounds, a steal, and 3 assists, and Kaybree Carroll had 2 steals and an assist. Carleigh Labombard had a steal and an assist, and Adaline Odle had a rebound. Izzie Scaife had 2 boards, and Emerson Camfield had 1.

Thursday matched the Wildcats up with Hart County, KY. The Wildcats kept pace with Hart in the first with the score being 18 all at the end of one. Hart went up by 5, 38 – 33, by halftime. The 'Cats fought back in the third to cut the margin to 2, 50 – 48, but fell in a close one, 69 – 66. Cayman Camfield hit for 31 on the night with 6 boards and an assist. Freshmen Caysen Mosley and Drew Baugus each hit for double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively. Mosley had 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 4 assists, while Baugus had 6 boards and 5 assists. Kace Bryant had 6 points with an assist, and Case Butler had 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Nate Bevis and Logan Davis each scored a point, with Bevis grabbing 6 boards, a steal, and dishing out 2 assists. Davis had 3 rebounds. The Wildcats struggled at the line, shooting 46.2%, making only 12 of 26 in the loss.

On Friday, the Ladycats again dominated their opponent, Gibbs County. The Ladycats came out and took a 15- point lead after the first period and never looked back, winning by the final score of 70 – 43. Ava Ashley, Lou Prater, and Presley Daniel all hit for double figures with 23, 17, and 12 points respectively. Ashley had 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and 2 assists. Prater had 2 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 assists. Daniel had 4 boards and 2 assists. Mary-Grace Littleton scored 6 points and had a rebound, a block, 2 steals, and 3 assists. Kabree Carroll scored 5 points and had 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Carleigh Labombard scored 3 points and had 2 rebounds and a block. Emerson Camfield and Emma Green each had 2 points. Green had 4 rebounds and an assist. Adaline Odle had 3 boards and 2 assists, and Kinsley Miller had a rebound. Shylynn Smith and Kylei Thompson each had a rebound with Thompson grabbing a steal. Izzie Scaife had an assist. The Ladycats shot 56.1% from the field and forced 21 Gibbs turnovers.

The Wildcats matched up with MUHS on Friday and came out and took a 21- 13 lead after one quarter as Cayman Camfield hit for 14 in the period. He continued the hot shooting, sending the 'Cats on their way to a 72 – 58 win. Camfield hit for a career high 39 points, including shooting 68.5% from the field. He had 9 boards, a block, 3 steals, and an assist. Kace Bryant scored 12 points with 4 rebounds, a steal, and 3 assists. Caysen Mosley scored 8 points and had 3 rebounds and an assist. Nate Bevis had 4 points with 3 boards and an assist. Drew Baugus and Logan Davis each scored 3 points. Baugus had 4 boards, a block, and 2 assist, while Davis had 2 rebounds and 9 assists. Warren Cmfield added 2 points and a rebound, and Case Butler had 1 point with 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal.

On Saturday, the Ladycats matched up with Baylor. The Ladycats took a double-digit lead after one quarter, 17 – 7, and went on to take the win, 60 – 44 and the Championship. Ava Ashley, Lou Prater, and Presley Daniel hit in double figures with 23, 12, and 10 points respectively. Ashley had 7 boards, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and 2 assists. Prater had a rebound, a steal, and 6 assists, and Daniel had 7 rebounds, a steal, and 3 assists. Mary-Grace Littleton had 7 points with 4 boards and an assist. Kate Brison and Adaline Odle each hit a 3. Brison had 4 rebounds, while Odle added an assist. Kaybree Carroll had 2 points with 2 steals and an assist. The Ladycats shot 62.9% from the field, but struggled from the foul line, hitting only 14 of 26.

The Wildcats took on Hamilton on Saturday and went up 42 – 34 by the half. They came away with a 76 – 60 win. Cayman Camfield, Kace Bryant, Drew Baugus, Logan Davis, and Caysen Mosley all hit for double figures. Camfield hit for 24 points and had 5 rebounds, a block, 3 steals, and 3 assists. Bryant had 19 points, including 5 three-pointers, and 4 boards, a steal, and 3 assists. Baugus had 2 rebounds and a block. Davis added 4 boards, a steal, and 3 assists, and Mosley had 6 rebounds, a steal, and an assist. Nate Bevis had 3 points with 2 rebounds and 3 assists, and Case Butler had 2 rebounds.

The Ladycats now stand at 11 – 2 on the year, while the Wildcats are 8 – 4. Follow the action into 2026. “HAPPY NEW YEAR, 'CATS AND LADYCATS!”---Submitted by Susan Gallian

Photos by Heather Warren