ROUNDUP: West Ridge girls stay in hunt for conference title with win over MoWest

MORRISTOWN — In the month of February, every conference game is magnified. Especially, in a tight race for a league title. The West Ridge Lady Wolves find themselves in such a spot, having entered the week tied in the loss column for the Big East lead with Morristown East. They evened up the District 1-4A standings in the win column as well on Monday, defeating Morristown West 65-58. Junior Carter Jones led the Lady Wolves offense, going for a game-high 22 points. Of those 22, 20 came in the second half. Jones also broke the school record for rebounds in a contest, grabbing 18 on Monday. Teagan Tipton helped give West Ridge a halftime lead, scoring 15 of her 18 points in the first 16 minutes, as the Lady Wolves led 31-26 at the break. Millie Shelton also reached double-figures for the visitors from Blountville, netting a dozen points. For the Lady Trojans, Jocelin Murray scored 16 points, Jhaniya Mitchell recorded 14, Haven Simpson posted 13. Unicoi County 55, Johnson County 34 MOUNTAIN CITY — Brooklynn Sparks went for 25 points, including 16 from the charity stripe, for the Lady Devils. Abigail Vidrio chipped 11 more for the visitors. Abby Dickens led the way for the Lady Longhorns with 15 points. Unaka 75, University High 24 ELIZABETHTON — Emma Whitaker posted a game-high 18 points for the Lady Rangers as Unaka used a 28-6 first quarter to roll past UH. Michelle Shields added in 11 points as 11 different Lady Rangers found the scoresheet. Emma Linkous and Calle Hurd each had seven points for the Lady Bucs. Abingdon 49, Gate City 40 GATE CITY — Lauren Baker hit three triples for the Lady Falcons on her way to a 22-point outing. Annsley Trivette netted 19 points and also became Abingdon's all-time leading scorer. Adrianna Lane led the Lady Devils with 18 points. Both Candy Keller and Addison Keller netted 10 points each. Eastside 51, Twin Springs 42COEBURN — The Lady Spartans worked their way into a tie for first place in the Cumberland District with the win. Shelby Stanley netted 15 points to lead Eastside while B.J. Johnson had 11. Emma Ross paced the Lady Titans in scoring with 17 points. Isabella Dingus posted 11 points. BOYS Morristown West 66, West Ridge 49MORRISTOWN — The Trojans closed the game on a 13-0 run to pull away from the Wolves after West Ridge got to within four points. Julian Sexton and Jamere Williams went for 19 points each, leading the Trojans. Will DesGroseille added 11 more. Grant Thompson erupted for a game-high 29 points for the Wolves, including six made 3-pointers, four in the fourth quarter. Unicoi County 73, Johnson County 47 MOUNTAIN CITY — Jackson Simmons continued his torrent scoring season with a 36-point outburst for the Blue Devils. AJ Thomas netted 19 points and drilled four 3-pointers. Carter Simmons added 10 points. Landin Lipford's 18 points paced the Longhorns while Carson Jennings added 10. Unaka 78, University High 68 ELIZABETHTON — John Hardin had a monster game in the paint for the Rangers, exploding for 42 points. It's the second time Hardin has reached 42 points this season. Elsewhere for the hosts from Stoney Creek, Aiden Walsh reached double figures with 14 points. Knox Poston led the Bucs with 22 points, draining four triples. Janson West added 17. Knox Catholic 80, Tri-Cities Christian 66 KNOXVILLE — A slow second quarter doomed the Eagles, as they were out-scored 23-11 in the frame. Lofton Looney's 15 points were a team-high for TCA. Aaron Pomrenke added 13, Jordan Peters netted 11, and Lonny Holland scored 10 points, respectively. Cade Murphy erupted for 32 points for the Irish, while Travis Martin chipped in 16. Gate City 54, Abingdon 51GATE CITY — The Blue Devils rallied from down seven to earn a Mountain 7 victory. Both Parker Jenkins and Zayne Reed led the team in scoring, posting 18 points. Reed did most of his damage from the free throw line, going 9-of-12 for the game and 7-of-10 in the fourth quarter. Of Jenkins' 18 points, 16 came after halftime. Blake Ketron paced the Falcons with 19 points. Brayden Wallace also reached double-digits with a dozen points. Eastside 52, Twin Springs 28 COEBURN — Chase Williams had 15 points, all in the first half, to pace the Spartans. Brandon Edwards scored 13 points and Noah Hamilton posted 10. Clay Ross netted a dozen points to lead the Titans.