Published: December 17, 2009 10:59 pm      

Lady Lions open classic with win

Christian Heritage took the suspense out of its game against the Chattanooga Lady Patriots in just a few short minutes on Thursday.

The Lady Lions outscored the Lady Patriots 26-4 in the first quarter and cruised to a 56-20 victory behind Caty Nagel’s game-high 18 points in the opening game of the three-day Lions Christmas Classic round robin at Christian Heritage.

Maggie Peeples had 11 points and five steals for the Lady Lions, who zipped into the big early lead and never looked back. Meg Crawford and Bradley Townsend each scored eight points.

“We played well and had a real strong first quarter,” Christian Heritage coach Heather Lowery said. “We played good and we really hustled tonight.”

Holly Zorea scored 10 points to lead the Lady Patriots, a home school team.

The Lady Lions play at 7 p.m. today against Strong Rock Christian, the Georgia Independent School Association Class 2A state tournament runner-up last season.

� Chattanooga Patriots boys 77, Christian Heritage 40: Already trailing by 13 points at halftime, the Lions were buried in the third quarter when the Patriots outscored them 25-7.

Taylor Anderson, Andrew Malan and Luke Berville each had 11 points for Chattanooga, which made 10 3-pointers — eight in the first half — as it dropped Christian Heritage to 4-5.

“We’re just kind of struggling with a little bit of everything,” said Christian Heritage coach Chad Woodson, whose team returns to Lions Christmas Classic competition at 8:30 tonight against Strong Rock Christian.

“We struggled tonight at moving without the ball and we were a little sluggish defensively. Hopefully we’ll bounce back pretty well.”

� South Pittsburg girls 49, Strong Rock Christian 34: Kashae Reddick scored 17 points and Kayla McMillan added 13 for the Lady Pirates.

Ansley Hughes scored 17 points for Strong Rock, which also got 12 points from Mia Anthony.

� Strong Rock Christian boys 61, Jackson County (Tenn.) 59: Kelsey Moore pumped in a game-high 23 points and Matt Powell added 12 for Strong Rock.

Jordin Goodwin led Jackson County with 18 points and Mason Hensley finished with 16.

MS basketball

� Eastbrook 8th boys 43, Gladden 35: Terry Poindexter scored 29 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked eight shots for the Mustangs.

� Valley Point 8th boys 42, New Hope 35: Rhett Harper scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds for the Green Waves (3-2). Alex Clowers scored 11 points and Blake Foster added 10 for Valley Point. Levi Wilson led the Kodiaks (3-1) with 16 points.

� Westside 8th boys 44, North Whitfield 41: Matt Horne scored 13 points to lead the Rockets (6-2, 4-1), while Cameron Locke and Tevin McDaniel added 10 points apiece.

� New Hope 8th girls 18, Valley Point 16: Mallory Souther scored a game-high 18 points for the Lady Kodiaks (2-2) and Tiyah Deloach had six. Alannah Long led the Lady Green Waves with 16 points and Tosha Bridges had seven.

� Westside 8th girls 32, North Whitfield 24: Halle Ford had 18 points, while Haley Reece and Ashley Huynh each added six for the Lady Rockets (6-1, 4-0).

� Gladden 8th girls 39, Eastbrook 32: Holly Stanfield had 11 points, Caitlyn Sims 10 and Drew Tipton six for the Lady Warriors (5-1).

� Eastbrook 7th boys 38, Gladden 27: Chaz Payne led the Mustangs with 19 points and Gustavo Diaz added 14.

� Westside 7th girls 23, North Whitfield 15: Erin Orem had eight points and Kala Franks scored four for the Lady Rockets (4-0). Macey Fossett led the Lady Pioneers with eight points.

� New Hope 7th boys 28, Valley Point 24: Jamon Horne and Connor Beach each had eight points for the Kodiaks (4-0). Bernie Delagarza led the Green Waves (4-1) with eight points and Tyson Cooper had six.

� New Hope 7th girls 31, Valley Point 17: Taylor Ogle scored 10 points and Sydney Storey added eight for the Lady Kodiaks (3-1). Brooke Hasty had five points for the Lady Green Waves.

� Gladden 7th girls 26, Eastbrook 10: Allie Davis finished with 10 points and Ashlee Strong eight for the Lady Warriors (4-2), while Judelle Herrera’s six-point effort was best among Eastbrook players.