There is no telling Rhea County senior point guard Mallory Hampton to slow down.
Hampton's quick attacking ability mixed with an extremely experienced starting five has the Lady Eagles looking like legitimate championship contenders midway through the season.
Hampton scored a game-high 23 points Friday in a 73-31 win over Tyner in the Chatt-Town Classic at Chattanooga State. The small but stealthy Samford signee did her offensive damage inside the arc, making 11 field goals.
"She hit her head hard on the court the other day and was bleeding," first-year Rhea County coach Tracy Vest said. "Once we got it to stop, she went right back out there and scored 24 points. That's just the competitor she is. She loves the game so much."
Rhea County (10-1) will battle a force from another district, Red Bank (11-2), in the 2:30 p.m. game Saturday in the Chatt-Town Classic.
The Lady Eagles have not won a district championship in the 21st century, but their entire starting lineup is back and four of the five starters are seniors. Junior Macy Welch scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half to help Rhea break the 70-point mark for the fifth time.
Hampton drove the left baseline and went up and under for a flashy layup late in a 47-point first half.
"I try to play hard and lead by example," said Hampton, who has surpassed 1,700 career points. "If I leave it all on the court, I know my teammates are going to as well. We are going to bust our butts and work hard to try and win a district championship."
Rhea County also received 12 points from senior 1,000-point scorer Haley Cameron, an Eastern Illinois signee.
Tyner fell to 5-3.
* Red Bank 70, Northwest Whitfield 42
Sophomore Savannah Washington scored 20 points and dished out half a dozen assists to help the Lady Lions roll to their 11th win.
The Red Bank point guard Euro-stepped her way past defenders and made sharp passes to her teammates. She also carried her team with nine-point first and third quarters, which included a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for a 20-8 lead after eight minutes.
"We motivate each other," Washington said, "and Bailey (Lee) has really helped me stay under control along with Raijeria (Bell). All of us have hopes and big goals in basketball. We don't want to be a regular team. We have a lot of team spirit and push each other to be the best."
Bell scored 13 of her 19 points after halftime, when Red Bank had a 41-18 scoring advantage. Arteya Scott added 14 points and three blocks, while Lee finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Northwest Whitfield (5-5) was led by Emma Allen's 14 points.
* Brainerd 42, Grace Academy 38
Tyliyah Ward caught fire to score 12 of Brainerd's 22 second-quarter points, including a pair of 3-pointers, for a 26-16 halftime lead after trailing 10-4 through the first quarter.
Hailey Wiest helped Grace (2-5) fight back in the third quarter with seven of her team-high 15 points to cut the deficit to five. Wiest hit seven of 10 free throws.
The Lady Panthers secured their first win of the season on their eighth try as Iceland Bradley made three crucial field goals in the final quarter.
* Chattooga 66, Central 48
Central's short-handed Lady Purple Pounders built a 17-14 first-quarter lead but could not keep up that pace.
Chattooga (9-3) pulled away with back-to-back 21-point quarters as Makiya Parrish led the hot streak with 14 of her 18 points in the second and third periods to build a 56-34 lead.
Each team had three scorers in double figures, including Alone Allen (15 points), Ja'nya West (14) and Jane Parker (11) for Central (2-6). Faith Ann Foster had 14 points and NeVaeh Morgan added 10 for Chattoooga.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.