Walker Valley High School’s Dylan Lillard has signed scholarship papers to play golf for Lee University. So has Judianne Speech from West Jessamine High in Nicholasville, Ky.
“Dylan comes from a great program with coach Bob Williams, so he understands the importance of team golf,” John Maupin, who coaches both teams, said in a Lee release. “Additionally, Dylan has enjoyed some great individual success over the past couple of years in some big tournaments.”
Lillard has won the Chattanooga City Junior and HJGT Chattanooga Junior tournaments and tied for fourth in the 2015 Class AAA high school state event, yet he is “very level-headed on the golf course and as humble a kid as you’ll find,” Maupin added.
Lillard said Maupin started recruiting him before anyone else, “and I knew (Lee) was a great fit. I really didn’t consider going anywhere else.”
Speech, on the other hand, picked the Lady Flames over Division I programs Belmont, Lipscomb and Western Kentucky, partly because her sister, former Lee All-American Sloane Skinner, “had a great experience” at the Cleveland school.
She was the Kentucky Senior Championship runner-up this year and finished third in her high school regional and in the top 10 in the AJGA Scott Stallings Invitational.
“She comes from a great family and has the well-rounded success we look for in a player,” Maupin said. “Judianne enjoyed a very successful senior season and brings a lot of good tournament experience to our team.”
Basketball
‘ The Lee basketball teams opened Gulf South Conference play Thursday with a 58-54 women’s victory but a 72-56 men’s loss at Christian Brothers in Memphis. Haris Price and Kayla Beavers scored 17 points each to lead the Lady Flames, Beavers with five 3-point baskets, and Christina Johnson had nine rebounds. C.J. Reese had 17 points and five assists and Keevin Tyus had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Flames.
‘ Megan Billingsby scored 32 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the field and grabbed eight rebounds as the 19th-ranked Bryan College women’s basketball team beat visiting Bluefield 84-75 in an Appalachian Athletic Conference doubleheader Thursday. Bryan won the men’s game 80-72 as Brandon Cole had 34 points and 11 rebounds and Brice Cusick scored 15 points. Taylor Neuharth made three 3s and scored 17 points for the Lady Lions (11-0, 4-0), and Keila Formont had eight assists.
‘ DaV Moore had 18 points and 17 rebounds, Larry Spicer scored 17 points and Boban Jacdonmi added 13 Thursday as the Chattanooga State men’s basketball team improved to 12-3 with a 79-69 win over the Tennessee Wesleyan junior varsity. Jarek Boyd and Bryson Baker scored 14 and 12 for TWC.
‘ Georgia Northwestern’s Ashley Farrell was the GCAA Division III women’s basketball player of the week for her 13 points and six rebounds in a loss to the Bryan junior varsity last week. She’s a sophomore guard from Gordon Central.
Soccer
‘ Covenant College senior defender Ruth Terry made the NSCAA All-South Region third team for 2015. A midfielder her first three years with the Lady Scots, she moved to the back this season and still scored four goals, with two game-winners, in addition to helping register nine shutouts.