Van Buren boys, girls claim District 6-A titles

SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. --One was expected the other was not, as Van Buren County swept the District 6-A basketball tournament championships here Sunday evening. The tourney was moved up one day because of the threat of inclement weather.

The top-seeded Lady Eagles extended their district win streak to 26 games with a 71-35 whipping of Lookout Valley, while the second-seeded Van Buren boys handed Sale Creek its first loss of the season to a district foe, claiming a 64-59 win.

In what might well be the understatement of the season, Van Buren girls' basketball coach Cheryl Cole summed up her team's third straight tournament title in just five words.

"We shot the ball well," Cole said after the Lady Eagles connected on seven first-quarter 3-pointers and 11 in the first half to cruise to their third straight district title.

The Lady Eagles (25-4) scored the game's first eight points, made three times as many 3-pointers as two-point baskets in the opening quarter and built a 31-point halftime lead. They extended their win streak over district teams to 26 straight and will host Grace Academy in this week's Region 3-A tournament. Lookout Valley's girls will host Silverdale Baptist in the region.

"We wanted to take them out early and not let them hang around with us," Cole added. "We came out ready to play and took care of business right away.

Carly Cole led the Lady Eagles with 19 points, including five 3-pointers and Lakelyn Bouldin, a Miss Basketball finalist, added 15 points.

"We just have the mindset that we aren't going to overlook anybody," Boulding said. "It means a lot to us to keep this streak going. We're a team of sisters. We're all pretty close and we just want to keep playing together."

Van Buren's boys, who had lost twice by single digits to Sale Creek, led throughout most of the title game. But after Sale Creek rallied to tie the game with just over three minutes to go, the Eagles answered with an 8-2 run and held on late.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.

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