Knox West - Morristown West

Lady Trojans demolish West 73-18

BY BRIAN HAMILTON KNOXVILLE – Knox West was outmatched on Monday night, as Morristown West scored early and often, building a 24-2 first quarter lead, en route to a 73-18 district win. While a comfortable blowout win is nice, Morristown West head coach Johnny Gaylon is more concerned with how his team executes down the stretch. “We’re playing more to be in the right spots,” Gaylon lamented after the game. “We weren’t necessarily worried about the scoreboard and we talked about that. We know Knox West is young, but we were just trying to get a little momentum for Friday …

Knoxville West

West loses late lead, falls to Lipscomb Academy in Winterfest Shootout finals

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – Knox West jumped out to an early lead and led most of the way during the Winterfest Shootout finals against Lipscomb Academy, but were unable to hold onto the lead late. The Rebels clung to a 63-62 lead with less than a minute left until Lipscomb’s Nick Duke nailed a three with 45 seconds remaining to give the Mustangs a 65-63 advantage. West was never able to score again in the waning moments, falling 68-63. “They’re a very talented bunch and we knew that going in,” West head coach Tommy Eggleston said after the game. …

Kaliyah Burden - Sevier County

Bearettes hand Heritage first loss of season to win Winterfest Shootout

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – Sevier County ran through a gauntlet of undefeated teams to win the Winterfest Shootout on Monday afternoon. The Bearettes were tasked with unseating 11-0 Lipscomb Academy in the semifinals (58-46) and then taking down 14-0 Heritage in the final. “I’ve never been one who cares if you’re undefeated,” Heritage head coach Rick Howard said after the game. “I think you need to lose every now and then just to keep you honest and make sure your ego is down and know that somebody can beat you. That doesn’t bother me more than playing terrible offensively.” …

Sevier County

Sevier County defeats White County for third place in Winterfest Shootout

BY BRIAN HAMILTON SEVIERVILLE – Sevier County was coming off a controversial loss to Lipscomb Academy in the semifinals of the Winterfest Shootout and could have hung their heads going into the third-place game of a holiday tournament. With the game at home and the stands packed with local supporters, the Smoky Bears came out strong and dominated White County 64-30 to place third in the tournament. Nate Griffin opened the scoring with a three to put White County in front 3-0, but Sevier County countered with a three of their own to tie the game at 3-3. Reed Ownby …

Girl’s Basketball Rankings

Girls Basketball Rankings (December 22) Heritage (14-0) Bearden (14-1) Northview Academy (13-1) The King’s Academy (13-2) Sevier County (11-3) Morristown East (12-3) Cocke County (11-5) Farragut (9-5) Gatlinburg-Pittman (12-5) Alcoa (9-4)