Wildcats, Lady Cats are Region Champs, Both STATE BOUND!!

A successful week of basketball for Wayne County High School ended with two region championships, and the Ladycats winning Saturday night to advance to the “Blue Cross Basketball Championships” Class 1A on Thursday in Murfreesboro. The Ladycats defeated Houston County on Monday and McEwen on Wednesday to capture their title. They went on to down Cornersville on Saturday to earn their berth to State. The Wildcats beat Frank Huges on Tuesday, then defeated Perry County on Thursday. They match up with Richland Monday night in sub-state/sectional action. The Ladycats will face off against Gordonsville (29 - 4) Thursday at 4:00 p.m.

The Ladycats led from start to finish in region semi-final action on Monday against Houston County. They led, 30 – 8, at the half and went on to take the easy win, 58 - 26. Ava Ashley had 23 points, with Presley Daniel adding 18, to lead the Ladycats. Ashley had 12 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 assists. Daniel grabbed 6 rebounds and had 2 steals and 3 assists. Mary-Grace Littleton scored 9 points and had a rebound. Adaline Odle scored 5 points with 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Kate Brison, Kaybree Carroll, and Kylei Thompson each went 1 of 2 from the foul line. Brison had 2 rebounds, a steal, and 5 assists. Carroll had 2 boards and a steal, while Thompson had a rebound. The Ladycats shot 53.2% from the field and won the rebounding battle, 28 – 15.

The Wildcats went up on Frank Hughes 18 – 10, after one quarter. The margin increased to double-digits, 31 – 17, by halftime. They went on an 8 – 0 run to begin the third and took the 53 – 34 win to advance to the championship game. Cayman Camfield hit for 23 points on the night to lead the 'Cats. He had 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Kace Bryant hit 3 three-point goals for 9 points, had a rebound, a steal, and an assist. Logan Davis scored 7 points and had a rebound, a steal, and 5 assists. Drew Baugus and Caysen Mosley each had 6 points. Baugus had 2 rebounds, a block, a steal, and an assist. Mosley had 7 boards with a block and an assist. Case Butler had 2 points with 7 rebounds and a steal. Nate Bevis had a rebound, a steal, and 3 assists. Warren Camfield had 2 rebounds, and Casey Franks had 1. The ‘Cats hit 8 of 19 from 3 and forced 14 turnovers.

The Ladycats matched up with the home team, the McEwen Lady Warriors, in the Region 6-1A Championship game on Wednesday night. They held a slim 9 – 7 lead after one quarter, but trailed 23 – 20 at halftime. An Adaline Odle and two Kate Brison three-pointers kept the Ladycats close in the second. A Kate Brison basket cut the margin to one in the third, but McEwen answered with a 3. Later in the quarter, Mary-Grace Littleton tied the game at 26 all. An Ava Ashley 3-point play gave the Ladycats the lead. They led 35 – 32 after three quarters. In the fourth, the game slowed down. With 1:38 left, Ashley gave the Ladycats the lead, 40 – 38, and added to it at the 1:06 mark, to make it 42 – 38. Adaline Odle hit 2 big free throws with 31.7 seconds left. McEwen answered with 2 points to make it 44 – 40. Presley Daniel finished it off at the line, hitting a pair of free throws to make it 46 – 40. Daniel finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds, a block, 3 steals, and 3 assists, and Ava Ashley scored 15 points with 3 boards, 3 blocks, and a steal, to lead the Ladycats. Kate Brison came up big with 2 three-point goals, finishing with 8 points and 3 rebounds, plus 4 assists. Mary-Grace Littleton scored 6 points and had 4 rebounds, a steal, and an assist. Adaline Odle added 5 points, with 4 boards, a steal, and 4 assists. The Ladycats hit 47.1% from the field and won the game at the foul line, shooting 93.3%, hitting 14 of 15 free throws. McEwen shot 37% from the field and 100% from the line, making 6 of 6.

Thursday night, the Wildcats matched up with the Perry County Vikings in the championship game of Region 6A. The Vikings opened on a 11- 3 run, and they led 16 –7 at the end of the first quarter. The 'Cats fought back as the Vikings blocked a shot, the 'Cats came up with the offensive rebound, and Cayman Camfield hit a 3 to tie the game at 22 all. Perry County answered with a 3 and led 27 – 24 at the half. In the third, the score went back and forth with the 'Cats being down 36 – 31 after three. In the fourth, with 3:59 left, Camfield got fouled on a three, and went to the line with 3:59 left, to cut the margin to 1, 38 – 37.

Caysen Mosley put the 'Cats up by one, 39 – 38, with 2:26 left. Perry County answered with a pair of free throws, to go back on top, 40 – 39. The Vikings called a time-out with 44.8 seconds left and scored out of the time-out to go up, 42 – 39. Logan Davis hit a basket with 8.4 left on the clock to cut the margin to 1, 42 – 41. Caysen Mosley came up with the steal on the Viking inbounds and got the ball to Drew Baugus under the goal. Baugus converted the basket and foul shot to make it 44 – 42. With 2.4 left, the 'Cats used their “foul to give.” Perry County got off a desperation shot that was no good, and the Wildcats took the region crown, 44 – 42. Cayman Camfield and Drew Baugus both hit for double figures with 18 and 15 points respectively. Camfield had 6 boards and 2 assists, while Baugus tallied 2 boards, 3 steals, and an assist. Logan Davis hit for 5 points and had a rebound and 5 assists. Caysen Mosley scored 4 and had 2 boards, the big steal, and an assist. Kace Bryant had 2 points with a rebound. Nate Bevis had 3 boards and 3 assists, and Case Butler had 2 rebounds. The 'Cats shot only 37.2% from the field, but came up with 10 offensive rebounds, leading to 9 second chance points. They won the rebounding battle, 17 – 15, and had only 3 turnovers on the night. With the win, they will host Richland on Monday night in sub-state/sectional action, playing for a berth in the state.

The Ladycats took a 12 – 7 lead after the first quarter of action again the Cornersville Lady 'Dawgs. Cornersville cut the lead to 1, 16 – 15, with 3:30 left in the second. The Ladycats turned the ball over and Cornersville went up 17 – 16. Presley Daniel hit a basket to put the Ladycats back up, 18 – 17, at the half. Daniel hit a basket to open the 3rd quarter, but Cornersville answered. The game was tied at 23 all with 4:51 left in the 3rd. WCHS led 25 – 24 at the end of 3.

The Lady 'Dawgs took the lead 26 – 25 early in the fourth. A Daniel free throw tied it at 26 with 6 minutes remaining. Ava Ashley made a 3-point play with 4:21 left, and Daniel got a steal and lay-up to put the Ladycats up by 5, 31 – 26. Cornersville had 4 turnovers in the final two and a half minutes of action, and the Ladycats advanced with a 37 – 30 win. Presley Daniel led the way with 15 points, on 5 of 6 shooting, with 6 boards, 2 steals, and an assist, plus taking 2 charges on defense. Ava Ashley scored 12 points, hitting 8 of 9 from the foul line, with 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and an assist. Mary-Grace Littleton had 4 points, a rebound, and an assist. Kate Brison and Adaline Odle each scored 3 points. Brison had 2 rebounds, 3 steals, and an assist, while Odle had a rebound, 2 steals, and an assist. Kaybree Carroll had 2 rebounds. The Ladycats shot 47% from the field and 73.7% from the foul line. They survived, committing 21 turnovers.---Submitted by Susan Gallian

After the Ladycats and Wildcats both won in the sub-state games, both teams are headed to the Glass House in Murfreesboro, TN to compete in the State Tournament! “BRING HOME THOSE GOLD BALLS 'CATS & LADYCATS!”