Friday, January 1, 1904
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team will play its third and final game in the Preseason WNIT on Friday night at Indiana State. The Lady Mocs (1-1) beat UAB last Friday before falling at top-ranked Baylor on Sunday. Indiana State (1-1) also won its opening game, beating Detroit, and lost at No. 2 Notre Dame on Sunday. The Lady Mocs and Sycamores have met twice, each with a win. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. After Friday, the Lady Mocs don't play again until Nov. 24, when they meet Idaho State in the Cancun Challenge in Mexico.
• Carson-Newman College sophomore Ish Sanders from Cleveland High School was the first South Atlantic Conference men's basketball player of the week of the season after scoring 49 points in two games, an overtime win over Erskine and a loss to King. He had the go-ahead 3-pointer and the clinching steal-and-score against Erskine and made five 3s against King. He was 6-for-8 on 2-point shots and 10-of-10 on free throws for the weekend.
• The Tennessee Temple University basketball teams lost road games to NCAA Division II teams Monday, the Crusaders (3-4) falling 80-64 at Clayton State and the Lady Crusaders (0-7) losing 90-65 at North Alabama. Shayla Wilson and Briana Reeves scored 15 and 13 points against UNA (1-1), which got 18 points and 12 rebounds from Nichelle Fillmore and 15 and 14 points from Cierrra Anderson and Jasmine Saxton. Oregon transfer Teondre Williams scored 24 points for the Lakers (1-0), which overcame a one-point halftime deficit. Corey Sanders had 12 first-half points and finished with 14 for Temple, while Drew Ferrell scored 13 and Germeil Daniels had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
• The Covenant College basketball teams begin their third seasons as provisional NCAA Division III members tonight by hosting Berry College, beginning with the women's game at 6, and the Sewanee women's team opens by hosting Judson College from Marion, Ala., at 7 EST. Covenant is calling tonight's doubleheader "Royal Blue-Out Night" and will award royal blue T-shirts to the first 500 fans arriving, and two fans will have chances to shoot for $10,000. Sophomore forward Jessie Blankenship leads the Lady Scots returners after averaging 13.4 points and 7.3 rebounds a game last year, and Margaret Cross is a senior guard who averaged 11.4 points last year and starred for the soccer team this fall. Junior wing Callum Sears averaged 13.4 points for the Covenant men in 2010-11.
• UTC women's tennis coach Jeff Clark has announced the signings of four-star prospects Kelsey Coots from Huntsville (Ala.) High School and Kayla Jones from White Station High in Memphis to national letters of intent for the 2012-13 school year. Both are reigning USTA state qualifying doubles champions. Coots is the USTA's No. 1-ranked 18-under girl in Alabama and was the Class 6A high school state singles champion last spring. She has been on Alabama's Southern Cup juniors team five times. Jones is No. 3 in the USTA rankings for Tennessee and was the runner-up to UTC freshman Kaylene Chadwell in the 2011 Class AAA state tournament. "Kelsey had a great summer tennis season, especially in sectional and national events. She is a fighter on the court," Clark said. "Kayla has been one of the top juniors in Tennessee for quite some time. In particular she has had great success in doubles at the state, sectional and national levels. They have had outstanding junior tennis careers so far, and they will make an immediate impact on our lineup."
• David Bigham won the Foot Brake class at the Brainerd Optimist Drag Strip for the second consecutive week Saturday night. The 39-year-old Calhoun, Ga., plant manager defeated 39 entries in the season finale with a 7.6-second run on a 7.60 dial in a 1968 Dodge Dart and received $1,000. Mike Allison of East Ridge was second within a 440 Chrysler-powered '73 Dodge Charger, prepared like Bigham's Dart by Melvin Croft. Chattanooga's Daryl Goodner was third in his '86 Ford Thunderbird, and Al Baker was fourth in the '70 Maverick he drove from Marietta. Steve Holloway of Ringgold won the prize for best estimated time with a 6.650 run on a 6.65 dial. The 2012 season will begin in March with new management.
• The Boyd's Speedway Crate Late model track champion for 2011, Jason Welshan of Maryville, drove to his 29th regional win of 2011 but his first at North Georgia Speedway with the Crate Late Model victory Saturday at the Chatsworth track.