Halle Ware of Whitwell, left, and Marion County’s Autumn Towery struggle to gain possession of the ball Monday night at Chattanooga School of Arts and Sciences’ gymnasium.Region 3-A semifinalsAt Arts & SciencesWHITWELL 48, MARION COUNTY 39Marion 11 10 5 13 — 39Whitwell 14 16 8 10 — 48Marion County (39) — L. Brown 2, Autumn Towery 11, K. Brown 7, Brooks 2, K. Simpson 3, Haley St. Clair 14, Grooms.Whitwell (48) — Green 1, Condra 6, Caldwell, Coppinger, Bennington, Haley Atterton 12, Halle Ware 16, Carter 8, Kilgore 5, Gholston.3-point goals: Marion none; Sale Creek 5 (Condra 2, Ware, Carter, Kilgore). Other highlights: Kayla Brown 18 r; Lauren Brown 9 r, 2 b; St. Clair 7 r (MC); Braylie Condra 6 s, 3 a; Ware 7 s, 3 a; Paige Carter 7 r (W). Records: Whitwell 26-6; Marion County 17-15.VAN BUREN 50, SALE CREEK 44 (OT)Van Buren 10 4 7 20 9 — 50Sale Creek 12 9 8 12 3 — 44Van Buren County (50) — Ashley Butcher 10, Grissom 2, Hitchcock 5, Thornton 2, Shockley 1, Cochran, Hankins 1, Christian 2, Lakelyn Bouldin 27.Sale Creek (44) — Welch 2, Megan Storey 11, Erin Hill 12, Wolff 3, Newsom, Roark 2, Wilkinson, Krissy Hodge 14, Crowder 1, Chauncey.3-point goals: Van Buren 3 (Butcher 2, Hitchcock); Sale Creek 3 (Hill 2, Wolff). Records: Van Buren 13-16; Sale Creek 24-5.
Whitwell coach Eric Zensen wanted his girls’ basketball team make sure Marion County post player Lauren Brown didn’t beat his team Monday. As it turns out, none of the other Lady Warriors could do it, either.
Zensen’s Lady Tigers forced 31 turnovers and built a double-digit lead before settling on a 48-39 victory Monday at Arts & Sciences. They advance to the Region 3-A championship game Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Whitwell will face Van Buren County (13-16), the District 6-A four seed that beat second-seeded Sale Creek in overtime, 50-44, behind 27 points from eighth-grader Lakelyn Bouldin in her second high school varsity game.
“She was playing middle school ball, and so we had to wait for the opportunity,” Van Buren coach Amy Russell said. “She’s met every expectation of ours. When she gets in the gym, all she sees is the basketball and the goal.”