Strong reaches 1,000-point
milestone at Pickett County
By THOMAS P. WEAVER
HORIZON Editor
BYRDSTOWN-The Clay County Lady Bulldogs have won four out of their last six games to improve to 12-9 overall, but more importantly, they have played their way into a tie for third place in District 6-A with a 6-4 conference record.
After dominating Trousdale County 67-44 in Hartsville to start the week, the Lady Dawgs fell here on the road to Pickett County by a score of 70-52, but the week’s conference split helped them remain in the hunt—with Clay County currently knotted up at third with Jackson County (12-9, 6-4).

Though the AP #4-ranked Lady Bobcats (18-2, 7-2) handed the Lady Dawgs another loss, it was still a historic night for junior guard Taylor Strong—who not only led her team with a game-high 20 points, but also entered the elite 1,000-point scoring club midway through the third quarter.
Strong came into the contest just 10 points shy of the milestone and she got over half of that in the opening period. Then after a driving layup got her to 998 career points, she was fouled the next time she attacked the basket.
At the 3:38-mark of the third, Strong calmly sank a pair from the charity stripe to reach the career landmark, before going on to lead her team in scoring the remainder of the game.
Strong also led the way in the victory over the Lady Yellow Jackets with 19 points, while her classmate Kenzie Arms—who scored her 1,000th point last week—added 16 and senior Brittany Boone put up 15.
Clay County was set to host AP #1-ranked and District 6-A leader Clarkrange (24-2, 11-0) Tuesday night after HORIZON press time. Besides Tuesday’s home contest with the Lady Buffaloes, the Lady Dawgs will host Monterey Friday on Senior Night in Celina and travel to Red Boiling the following Tuesday—both of which will be contests carried live by the Horizon Sports Network’s Game of the Week coverage at www.dalehollowhorizon.com.

Lady Bulldogs…..……….52
Pickett Co……………..….70
After Clay County jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, Pickett County went on a 6-0 run to gain control and never looked back in a 70-52 win over the Lady Bulldogs.
Taylor Strong did score a game-high 20 points, half of which gave her 1,000 for her career, but it wasn’t enough to fend off the high-powered offense of the Lady Bobcats.
Clay County trailed 17-12 at the end of the opening period and fell behind by 15 points at the break, as Pickett County poured it on the second stanza.
The Lady Dawgs then fell behind by as many as 24 early in the fourth, before Kenzie Arms, who added 14 points in the loss, sparked a Clay County 9-0 run with a basket inside.
Strong capped the scoring burst with a three-pointer, pulling the Lady Dawgs within 15 midway through the final frame. She and junior Maddy Harlan also buried back-to-back threes with just over a minute to play to narrow the lead to 64-50, but Pickett went on to claim the 18-point victory.
LADY DAWGS (52)-Strong 20, Arms 14, Boone 7, Harlan 6, Karha Butterworth 3, Madison Beasley 2.

Lady Bulldogs…..……….67
Trousdale Co……..…..….44

HARTSVILLE-The Lady Dawgs never trailed here last week at Trousdale County and dominated the Lady Yellow Jackets 67-44 for their sixth District 6-A win of the season.
Brittany Boone scored 13 of her 15 points on the night in the first half to help Clay County lead 16-9 at the end of the first and 36-21 at intermission, before Taylor Strong and Kenzie Arms put the Lady Yellow Jackets away out of the break.
Strong dropped a dozen of her game-high 19 points in the final two quarters, while Arms scored half of her 16 during the same stretch.
Clay County led 48-30 after three quarters of play and went on to claim the 23-point conference victory.
LADY DAWGS (67)-Strong 19, Arms 16, Boone 15, Butterworth 8, Harlan 5, Rachel Copass 4.