Gordon Lee senior Julianna Spradlin on Tuesday became the Chickamauga school’s first athlete to sign a college scholarship to play volleyball. After helping lead the Lady Trojans to back-to-back 30-win seasons and state quarterfinal appearances, Spradlin signed with Truett-McConnell in Cleveland, Ga., a member of the NAIA’s Appalachian Athletic Conference. The two-time Walker County player of the year became Gordon Lee’s first all-state volleyball player in 2015, when she led all of Georgia Class AA in kill percentage. “I am so glad that Julianna has decided to become a Bear,” Truett-McConnell coach Melody Tenney said. “I know that she is going to be a great fit for our program, and I look forward to seeing the impact that she has on our team. In getting to know Julianna during the recruiting process, I have already recognized the strong leadership skills that she has.”
Basketball
* The Tennessee Wesleyan basketball teams swept visiting Bluefield in an Appalachian Athletic Conference doubleheader Wednesday evening in Athens, with the men winning 76-65 and the women winning 58-56. Leland Robinson recorded a double-double (25 points, 13 rebounds) and had four assists for the Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1 AAC), while Trey Suttles added 23 points and Devante’ Jenkins chipped in 11 points, nine rebounds and three steals. The Lady Bulldogs (2-3, 2-2) used balanced scoring but got double-figure performances from Hunter Simpson (14 points) and Jara Gasper (13), plus nine points, six rebounds and three assists from Melanie Barker. Simpson also had six rebounds and four assists, and Gasper had three steals.
* Outscored in every quarter, Covenant College lost 75-51 to Berry in an NCAA Division III women’s basketball matchup Wednesday night in Rome, Ga. It was the fourth straigh loss for the Lady Scots since beating Berry 69-62 in the season opener on Lookout Mountain. Covenant – which shot 16-for-60 (26.7 percent) from the field Wednesday – was led by Aleigh Williams’ 12-point performance. Berry (4-3) led by 31-26 at halftime but started the third quarter with a 13-2 run.
* The Sewanee men’s basketball team beat Covenant 64-51 in Tuesday’s late game at Sewanee, as senior Seth Brown scored a career-high 19 points and Keshonn Carter had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Brown was 7-for-8 from the field. Clay Born from Baylor School added 11 points with three 3-pointers, nine rebounds and three steals as the Tigers (4-1) avenged their lone loss. For Covenant (3-2), Ben Phelps scored 19 points with 5-of-8 3-point shooting and TJ Cox added 16 points with three 3s. Sewanee outrebounded the Scots 42-27.
* The Cleveland State men’s basketball team defeated visiting Snead State 73-60 on Tuesday, but Snead’s Lady Parsons won 71-67 and have given the Lady Cougars both of their losses this season. Jahaad Lyons scored 16 points with four 3s, and Dontrell Whitaker and Courtland Crutcher added 14 and 11 points for the Cougars (5-6), who got nine rebounds from Darrion Leslie and eight from Whitaker. Von Harrison had 16 points and seven rebounds and Keke Smith and JLynn Majors scored 13 and 12 points for the Lady Cougars (10-2). Jasmine Richardson and Danielle Gaines-Jordan scored 24 each for Snead.
Football
* The “Beast Weekend” football combine is set for Dec. 12-13 at the Chattanooga Sports Complex at 6246 Dayton Blvd., with high school players featured that Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and middle schoolers getting their chance on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Beast University Training is one of the host entities; registration is handled through gridironscouting.com, which will post the combine rankings that will be seen by college recruiters throughout the country. Participation costs $130 and will include player measurements and testing in the 40-yard dash, 185-pound bench press, standing broad jump, vertical jump, pro agility, 5-10-5 drills and 7-on-7 competition. Each session also will include nutrition and health advice and guidance in the recruiting process from former college and professional players.