Notre Dame teams to play before Hawks on Dec. 30

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

The Notre Dame basketball teams will play Knoxville Catholic on Dec. 30 in Philips Arena in Atlanta, home of the NBA's Hawks.

According to a press release, the Lady Irish teams will face off at 1:30, followed by the boys' teams at 3. The Hawks will play the Cleveland Cavaliers that evening.

Hawks tickets also will allow admission to the high school doubleheader with tickets starting at $59 for 300-level baseline seating, $119 for 200-level baseline and $169 for 100-level baseline. After Nov. 1, tickets will go on sale to the general public.

After the afternoon games, patrons must clear the arena, but they will be allowed back in when the doors reopen for the NBA game at 6.

To order tickets, contact Joe Rickert at 404-878-3857 or joe.rickert@hawks.com. Or mail orders to Atlanta Hawks, Attn. Joe Rickert, 101 Marietta St., Ste. 1900, Atlanta, GA 30303.

7-AAAA pack tight

Heritage has taken control of the top spot in Georgia Region 7-AAAA softball, but the race for the postseason is wide open following the Generals, who are 9-0 and own a three-game lead with five region games remaining.

Entering this week's play, the difference between second-place LaFayette (5-3) and last-place Cartersville is three games. Ridgeland and Northwest Whitfield have four losses each, with Gilmer County at five and Pickens County, Southeast Whitfield and Cartersville with six each. Obviously, one good or bad week can make a big difference.

"Right now all the games are winnable and they're all losable," said Northwest Whitfield coach Jason Brooker. "If we can make routine plays and not give up free bases, it will be a good week. We could be in the driver's seat for second or still be battling for one of those top [tournament] seeds. It's going to have to come down to the last week."

Heritage can all but wrap up the regular-season title with wins today against Cartersville and Thursday at LaFayette.

Baylor goes 1-1-1

The Baylor girls' soccer team finished 1-1-1 in the prestigious Rivals Tournament in Memphis over the weekend. It was a good test for the young Lady Red Raiders, who posted two shutouts in the three matches.

"It was good that we had two shutouts in the three games," Baylor coach Curtis Blair said. "We must continue to find ways to win games that are close. We will get back to work on Monday and try to get better."

After defeating Bartlett 1-0 Friday on a goal by Lainee Bohannon, the Lady Red Raiders fell 6-0 to Class AAA fourth-ranked Clarksville before battling to a scoreless draw with St. Benedict.

Also, Chattanooga Christian finished second in the Cleveland Soccer Classic with a 2-0-1 record. The Lady Chargers are 3-3-3 overall after defeating Soddy-Daisy and Grace Christian and tying Blackman.

"We are getting much closer to playing as a team," CCS coach Cal Sneller said. "The morning game was without five seniors, and the younger ladies stepped up and played well against a good team. We had many opportunities to put it away, so it is a little frustrating, but that they competed that well without some key players was huge.

"The evening game went well offensively. We used probably 23 players, and I thought we had a pretty good game overall. We never like being scored on, but they are trying to learn with each goal scored on us."

Host Cleveland was sixth after losses to Class AAA third-ranked Maryville and Oakland and a tie against Grace Christian. Soddy-Daisy was eighth, losing to CCS, Oakland and Class AAA No. 7 Dobyns-Bennett.

Reynolds being honored

Boyd-Buchanan will hold a brief ceremony before its volleyball match tonight to celebrate setter Kristen Reynolds reaching the 3,000-assists mark in her high school career.

Reynolds is a four-year starter for the Lady Buccaneers, who are hosting Silverdale Baptist Academy at 6 in a key District 5-A match. The observance, which will include presenting Reynolds with a plaque commemorating the milestone she reached earlier this season during the Choo Choo tournament, is scheduled for 5:45.

"It's a big deal," Boyd-Buchanan coach Alfie Dodd said of the 3,000 total. "She's had the same girls around her and the chemistry with her teammates is great. But also, she can go and get the ball anywhere on the court and put it anywhere it needs to be."

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