Southeastern Tennessee neighbors Bryan College and Tennessee Wesleyan University will face off at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23, in Kingsport for the Appalachian Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament championship, and the fourth-seeded Bryan men narrowly missed an upset of top seed Union in Friday's semifinals. Union (25-6) won 67-65 with a 39-33 second half. Bryan's top-seeded Lady Lions, ranked 12th in NAIA Division II, rose to 30-1 with their 29th straight win, 63-42 over Reinhardt. Third-seeded TWU (22-8) upended No. 2 seed Milligan (26-6) 72-63 for its 13th victory in 14 games, with the loss to Bryan. Friday for TWU, Hunter Simpson had 21 points, 11 rebounds and four steals, Jacobi Lynn scored 15 points and Hannah Cherry tallied 10. The balanced Lady Lions got 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists from Deandra Luna, 10 points apiece from Karli Combs and Keneisha Love and nine rebounds each from Shayla Ludy and To'Nesha Allison. Heritage High School alumna Jada Hubbard had 11 points and three steals for Reinhardt (19-12). For Bryan's Lions (16-14), EJ Bush and Brandon Thomas had 21 and 17 points and 14 and 10 rebounds.
» Host Covenant College ended its special season with a 61-56 loss to Methodist in the USA South men's tournament semifinals Friday. The Scots' 18-9 record set a program record for winning percentage (.667). All-USAS guard Bailey Spragg had 12 points, 11 rebounds and four assists but also 11 turnovers for Covenant, and player of the year Will Crumly was held to nine points before fouling out. Methodist (15-12) was led by Dante Burden with 17 points and six assists and Kaymon Mitchell with 16 points and eight rebounds. Maryville (20-7) beat Averett 77-68 in the first semifinal.
» The third-seeded Sewanee men beat Hendrix 82-64 in a Southern Athletic Association quarterfinal in Danville, Kentucky, and the seventh-seeded Sewanee women gave No. 2 seed Oglethorpe (21-5) a challenge before falling 61-56 in Jackson, Mississippi. Bella Taylor scored 14 points and Sue Kim had 11 for the female Tigers (10-16), while Ellie Treanton made four steals. For the Sewanee men (20-6), Luke Smith had 27 points, Cam Caldwell 19 plus six assists, Hunter Buescher 12 points and Matt Lee 12 rebounds.
» Michaela Bennefield scored 26 points as Cleveland State's Lady Cougars pulled out an 83-81 TSSAA win at Dyersburg State. The Cleveland State men (11-14, 7-10) then won 97-81. Also for the Lady Cougars (7-16, 5-10), Britnay Gore scored 13 points and Za'kkria Robinson and Hannah Phillips added 12 each, and Emily Colbaugh earned coach Evelyn Thompson's praise.
Softball
» Ooltewah High School seniors Cheyanne Sales and Addy Keylon signed this week to continue their softball careers at Kennesaw State University and Bryan College, respectively. In her career for the Lady Owls, Sales has batted .422 with a .464 on-base percentage, 49 hits, 10 home runs, 49 runs batted in and 35 scored. Keylon has hit .399 with a .428 OBP, 126 hits, 29 stolen bases, five homers, 102 runs and 68 RBIs. "Both of these seniors are wonderful leaders. They are going to be strong assets to our team this year," new Ooltewah coach Kerilyn Mongar said. "Addy is so versatile at the plate. She is quick and can lay the ball down, and she is a power hitter. She is unstoppable in the outfield. Cheyanne has so much power at the plate. When she gets hold of the ball, it is gone. On the field she is a strong vocal leader behind the plate. Cheyanne is also a utility player and can tackle any position I put her in. I'm very blessed to have these two girls, and it is an honor to coach them."