The Clarkrange High School Lady Buffaloes slipped away with a win from a tough battle with Smith County earlier this week.
After running away to an early lead, including a double-digit advantage in the second period, Clarkrange held off a late surge by Smith County to win by one, 44-43.
“We led practically the whole game, then they went ahead with 27 seconds to go in the game,” said Clarkrange coach Lamar Rogers. “We had an 11-point lead going into the fourth when they made their run.
“Then, we came down and Chloe [Rogers] found Payton Manis under the rim, and she put it in with about 10 seconds to go.”
Clarkrange got early buckets in the game from Kady Hopkins and Lydia Phillips to jump out in front and lead 21-17 after the first period.
The Lady Buffaloes maintained their advantage in the second quarter. Sophia Sitton got on the scoreboard, as did Katelyn Cottle to help Clarkrange go in the halftime intermission with a 32-23 advantage.
“We played well,” Rogers said. “They led until the last two minutes of the first quarter. Smith County is a really good team, and that was a good win for us.
“Kady Hopkins got us off to a good start in the first quarter, I think she had 11 points. They were in man, then they went to zone and that hurt us a little bit. We just had to find a way to win.”
Clarkrange couldn’t be stopped in the third quarter. Hopkins nailed a couple of jumpers from the lane, while Phillips scored on a layup and Manis hit a jumper from the corner.
However, that is when Smith County came charging.
Chloe Collins led the way with 15 points for Smith County, most of which sparked the surge in the second half.
Emmy Jones had a solid defensive effort for the Lady Tigers, while scoring 10 points in the game.
“We didn’t do as well as we should have,” coach Rogers said. “But we showed our grit tonight. We finally showed our mental toughness and was able to grind it out.”
Smith County outscored CHS 15-5 in the fourth quarter, but they could not complete the challenge and get the win. The Lady Buffs took a narrow 44-43 victory.
Hopkins had 23 points for Clarkrange, while Phillips scored 10. Manis and Sitton scored four each, and Cottle had three.
The Clarkrange girls, perfect on the season at 3-0 overall, will be back on the court this weekend Nov. 29-30 at the Ezell-Harding Shootout in Antioch.
The Lady Buffs will open the first round with Eagles Friday at noon and will then take on Lipscomb Academy Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Clarkrange boys lose, 76-57
A tough fourth quarter proved to be costly for the Clarkrange Buffaloes earlier this week when they were outscored 19-5 by visiting Smith County to eventually lose, 76-57.
Smith County took the early lead in the game with big buckets from Gage Gibbs and Cooper Williams to run out to a 28-22 lead.
But Clarkrange turned up the defensive pressure and held Smith County to only five points in the second period.
The Buffs also turned things around offensively, thanks to Bryton Swallows and Tristan Taylor, and pulled within two, 33-31, heading into the intermission.
The margin was five as the horn sounded to end the third period. Baskets by Noah Gunter and Braxton Sears helped the Buffaloes stay close, trailing only 57-52 heading into the fourth and decisive quarter.
Swallows led Clarkrange in scoring with 18 points. Taylor scored 12 points and Gunter had 11. Sears scored nine, while Brady Sitton had five. Mason McWhirter chipped in with two.
Gibbs had a monster night for Smith County with 28 points. Williams ended the game with 22. Morgan Sinclair scored eight and Grayson Banka added seven.