Stories from Thursday, February 6, 2020

The Marshall County Tigerettes hit the road Friday night to Unionville to face the Community Viqueens, hoping to get back on the winning track after suffering their first District 12-AA loss to Nolensville. The Tigerettes fell victim to a second half surge by the Viqueens, who used a pressure defense and some timely shooting by Zoey Dixon to edge MCHS 38-33. The Tigerettes only had three players in the scoring column with Dionna Crutcher scoring 19 points, Kelsey Keiler had eight, and Karlye Wiser had two 3-pointers for six points.

Friday night’s second game pitted the MCHS Tigers against the number-seven ranked and once-beaten Community Vikings in a key District 12-AA matchup. The Tigers, despite trailing by only five points at the end of the first quarter could not keep up with the twin oaks of 6’7’’ Kobe Pride and 6’8” Corde Lane, who along with their hot shooting guards rolled to a lopsided 101-47 win. “We’ve lost two in a row, but hopefully we find a way to play as a complete team tomorrow (Saturday) night against Franklin County,” MCHS coach LaVon King said. “I felt we had a good game plan against them (Community) and we played well for the first quarter.”

The Rockets entertained Murfreesboro Central Magnet School (MCM) Friday night for the 100-year celebration of Chapel Hill boys basketball and after going to the locker room tied at the half, Forrest wilted in the second half and lost 70-41. “I didn't do a good job of having the guys focused coming out of halftime on the offensive or defensive end,” Forrest coach Corey Bishop said. “It is something personally I need to do a better job of, especially with only a few games remaining before tournament time.”

The Forrest Lady Rockets captured their third win in a row Friday night at Chapel Hill as they easily handled Murfreesboro Central Magnet School (MCM) 67-31. “They were focused on a little bit of payback from the last time we played them (49-40L),” Forrest coach Jeremy Jean said. “Last time over there we shot the ball really bad.” Junior standout Carissa Curtis continued her stellar campaign with a game-high 25 points and five 3-pointers, plus a perfect 4-for-4 effort from the free throw line.

The second game of Tuesday night’s twin bill saw the Giles County Bobcats taking on the Marshall County Tigers in a crucial District 12-AA matchup for both teams. The Tigers fell behind early, but kept fighting and scrapping to tie it up in the fourth quarter before Giles County’s J.C. Brown poured in 15 points in the final stanza and the Bobcats came away with a 65-62 win. “We got down early and had to fight back, but we just couldn’t close the deal,” MCHS coach Lavon King said. “They hit their free throws and that’s what you’ve got to do to win.”

The Lady Bobcats invaded Dottie Kelso Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday night to take on the Marshall County High School Tigerettes in a key District 12-AA matchup. The Tigerettes, with Karlye Wiser blistering the nets for six 3-pointers, kept the Lady Bobcats at arm’s length and sent Giles County home on the losing end of a 50-42 score.

The sixth-ranked Community Vikings marched into Chapel Hill Tuesday night and ran over the Rockets via a 79-47 District 12-AA win. Community (24-1, 7-0) has won 11 games in a row and its only loss was a 69-66 setback to Ardmore, Alabama in the Richland Christmas Tournament. “Community is a really good team, a veteran team,” Forrest coach Corey Bishop said. “All five starters have been starting for the past three years.” “They took their lumps as sophomores and freshmen, but they are now starting to see some good results this year.”

The Forrest Lady Rockets continued their late season surge Tuesday night at Chapel Hill with a 62-33 blowout win over District 12-AA foe Community. “Tonight we came out focused on our defensive assignments and we didn’t let them get any open three’s,” Forrest coach Jeremy Jean said. “We pressured their guards so they couldn’t feed the post, so we played a really good game from top to bottom.”

Forrest senior Jesmarie Negron wrestled her way to a second consecutive appearance in the state tournament with a fourth-place finish at the West Region Tournament last weekend at Nolensville. The 2020 Class A-AA Wrestling Championship is on February 21 and 22 at the Williamson County Expo Center in Franklin.

Anonymous donors recently came forward to supply the medals to the winners of the two coveted low medalist spots in the Gary Wells Cup intra-county golf match between Marshall County, Forrest, and Cornersville. The Wells Cup match, which began in 2012, honors longtime Marshall County Tiger golf coach Gary Wells, who coached the team for a 30-year period from 1979-2009 and guided the Tigers to 19 district titles (16 consecutive), plus back-to-back TSSAA state championships in 1997 and 1998, and a runnerup finish in 1999, all at the Old Fort Golf Corse in Murfreesboro.