Lady Dawgs head to Trousdale County Friday, Bulldogs travel to Gordonsville Saturday

EDITOR’S NOTE: Since appearing in print, this story has been updated to reflect the results from Monday and Tuesday night’s District 7-A Consolation games and Monday night’s District 8-A Boys Championship game.

LIVINGSTON-Both Clay County High School basketball teams will begin Region 4-A Tournament play with road trips at week’s end, following the conclusion of the District 7-A Tournament to start the week.

The Lady Bulldogs (12-15), who beat Clarkrange 46-40 in the conference consolation game after HORIZON press time Monday, will travel to District 8-A Runner-up Trousdale County (10-14) Friday night for a 7 p.m. region quarterfinal in Hartsville.

The Dawgs (11-17), who were beaten 68-52 by Clarkrange (17-13) in the boys consolation game Tuesday night, will now make the trip to District 8-A Champion Gordonsville (16-13) Saturday night to face the Tigers at 7 p.m.

The Clay County teams earned the right to play in the Region 4-A Tournament with district quarterfinal wins over Red Boiling Springs to start last week, before they both fell to Pickett County in the District 7-A Semifinals to set up their consolation game appearances.

Following this weekend’s elimination games, the remainder of the Region 4-A Tournaments will be held at Gordonsville High School next Monday through Thursday, March 2-5.

Monday will feature the girls semifinals and the boys semifinals will be held on Tuesday.  The girls championship will be played on Wednesday, while the boys championship will take place Thursday.

Sectional (substate) rounds featuring the top two teams from each region will be hosted by region champions on Saturday, March 7 (girls) and Monday, March 9 (boys).

The girls Class 1A State Tournament begins on Wednesday, March 11 and the boys Elite Eight kicks off a week later on Wednesday, March 18, both at MTSU’s Murphy Center in Murfreesboro.

All of Clay County’s remaining games will be carried live on the Horizon Sports Network online at dalehollowhorizon.com/listen and on the Dale Hollow Horizon Facebook page.

GIRLS 7-A QUARTERFINAL

Bulldogs………..……49

Red Boiling.…………47

LIVINGSTON-The Lady Dawgs overcame a 15-point halftime deficit and rallied for a 49-47 comeback victory  over Red Boiling Springs here in the District 7-A Girls Quarterfinals to avoid elimination and earn a spot in the upcoming Region 4-A Tournament.

Senior Ella Eads paced the Clay County girls with 18 points, while her classmate Baylor Walden chipped in 11 and junior Natalie Smith added 10 in the come-from-behind win.

Red Boiling Springs led by four at the end of the first quarter, before outscoring the Lady Dawgs 18-7 in the second stanza to surge ahead 36-21 at intermission.

Eads then went to work in the third period with 12 of her game-high total, including a three-pointer to close out the quarter—which cut the Red Boiling Springs advantage to 43-36 heading into the final frame.

Junior Haylen Garrison and Smith opened Clay County’s scoring with back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter to pull their team within three points.

Smith then gave the Lady Dawgs their first lead of the game at 46-45, before freshman Tyla Adams upped the Clay County margin to three points with a layup late in the game.

Red Boiling Springs cut it back to a one-point game with under a minute to play, but Smith turned them back on their next possession with a blocked shot and added a free throw to help her team survive and advance with the two-point victory.

LADY DAWGS (49)-Ella Eads 18, Baylor Walden 11, Natalie Smith 10, Haylen Garrison 6, Tyla Adams 4.

BOYS 7-A QUARTERFINAL

Bulldogs………..……84

Red Boiling.…………50

The Bulldogs eliminated Red Boiling Springs here in the District 7-A Boys Quarterfinals last Tuesday night by dominating them 84-50 en route to earning a Region 4-A Tournament berth.

Senior Cole Eads put on a shooting display with 11 three-pointers to set a new single-game record and score a career-high 36 points, while his classmate Nolan Adams joined him in double figures with 16 points.

Eads buried six from distance in the first half to help the Dawgs go ahead 36-27 at the break, before he added five more threes in the third quarter, where Clay County outscored Red Boiling Springs 28-7 to put the game away.

The Dawgs led 64-34 heading into the fourth quarter, before reserves finished off the 34-point victory.

DAWGS (84)-Cole Eads 36, Nolan Adams 16, Warner Melton 8, Jake Copeland 8, Caden Copeland 6, Easton Garner 4, Parker Upchurch 4, Isaiah Burnette 2.

GIRLS 7-A SEMIFINAL

Lady Bulldogs………53

Pickett Co……………57

The Lady Dawgs battled top-seeded Pickett County down to the wire here in the District 7-A Girls Semifinals, but came up just shy of a conference championship game appearance versus Jackson County with a 57-53 loss to the Lady Bobcats.

Natalie Smith scored a career-high 25 points and Ella Eads had 17 points to lead Clay County.

The Lady Dawgs trailed 15-11 at the end of the first quarter, before Eads dropped 10 points in the second stanza to help her team outscore Pickett County 19-8 in the period and carry a 30-23 lead into halftime.

The Lady Bobcats then responded in the third quarter to reclaim a five-point advantage heading into the fourth, after they outscored the Lady Dawgs 18-6.

Pickett County surged ahead by as many as eight points midway through the final frame, but Smith scored 13-straight for Clay County to get them back in it down the stretch.

Smith’s efforts pulled her team within four points with just over 20 seconds remaining and a Baylor Walden bucket made it a two-point game in the waning seconds, before the Lady Bobcats made a pair at the free-throw line to ice the four-point victory.

LADY DAWGS (53)-Natalie Smith 25, Ella Eads 17, Haylen Garrison 9, Baylor Walden 2.

BOYS 7-A SEMIFINAL

Bulldogs………..……55

Pickett Co……………79

The Dawgs kept pace with #1 seed Pickett County here in the first half of their District 7-A Boys Semifinal, before the Bobcats blew the game open in the third quarter and advanced to the championship game to face Jackson County with a 79-55 win.

Nolan Adams led Clay County with 22 points and fellow senior Warner Melton added 11 points, but it wasn’t enough to fend off Pickett County.

After only trailing by 11 at intermission, the Dawgs were outscored 27-12 in the third quarter by the Bobcats, who went on to win by 24 points.

DAWGS (55)-Nolan Adams, 22, Warner Melton 11, Cole Eads 7, Jake Copeland 4, Aayden Cherry 3, Caden Copeland 3, Easton Garner 2, Isaiah Burnette 2, Parker Upchurch 1.