ROUNDUP: Unaka girls fight off Cloudland, one win from outright district crown

ROAN MOUNTAIN — Led by Michelle Shields, the Unaka girls basketball team is one win from clinching the District 1-1A title outright. The Lady Rangers withstood a late rally and fought past Cloudland 58-48 at Sonny Smith Gymnasium on Tuesday night. Shields fired in 20 points, 15 in the first half including three 3s. As a result, Unaka built a 41-20 lead in the third quarter before the Lady Highlanders closed the gap to 53-46 with two minutes left. Brooklyn Campbell added 13 points, Emma Whitaker nine and Arianna Sutherland two 3s in her eight-point effort. Makinna Shell led Cloudland with 18 points, 14 coming in the second half including her 10-point fourth quarter. Abriella Jones joined her in double figures with 14. Elizabethton 66, Unicoi County 51 ELIZABETHTON — The visitors couldn't slow down Jamira Smalls in the paint or Addison Bunn from the perimeter. Both players scored 20 points to lead the Lady Cyclones, Smalls converting nine field goals while Bunn hit three times from 3-point range. Rylee May added two 3s and finished with eight points, as Elizabethton opened a 42-26 halftime lead and never looked back. Brooklynn Sparks led a balanced effort with 10 for Unicoi County. She buried two 3s, with Kaley Toney hitting three for her nine points. Carly Baxter finished with eight. Hampton 65, University High 39 HAMPTON — Hannah Smith, Daisy Parks and Gracie Jenkins led a balanced effort for the Lady Bulldogs. Smith and Jenkins both knocked down three 3-pointers, finishing with 16 and 13 points respectively while Parks poured in 15. Maggie Ryder led University High with a game-high 20 points, hitting five 3s while Emma Linkous added 10 points. Cherokee 75, Greeneville 49 ROGERSVILLE — The Lady Chiefs brought Greeneville's 12-game district winning streak to an end in convincing fashion, building a 35-24 halftime lead and taking a 54-34 lead to the fourth quarter. Rylee Sivert led the balanced attack with 21 points, 10 coming in the second quarter. Kenady Deal was right behind her with 19, burying four 3-pointers. Brooke Nelson (14), Addie Lawson (8) and Elizabeth Coward (8) all hit two 3s in the game. Brylee Tullock (two 3s) and Maria Lyde led Greeneville with 15 points apiece, while Julia Woolsey scored 12. Volunteer 62, Grainger 58 CHURCH HILL — Emilee Mailloux delivered in the clutch from the foul line, helping Volunteer withstand a furious rally and avenge a 41-point loss to earn its first district win of the year. She scored 19 points, going 10-of-16 from the charity stripe in the second half with six makes in the fourth quarter. Elisabeth Byington scored eight of her 15 points in the opening frame. Emma Miller (14) and Preslee Davis (8) both hit two 3-pointers. The Lady Falcons flipped the script from the first encounter, leading 19-7 after one quarter and 34-23 at the half. Emma Miller's 3-pointer at the buzzer made it 49-34 entering the fourth, before Grainger cut the deficit to 57-55. Adison Hayes buried eight 3s and led Grainger with 27 points. Briley Caldwell added 12. Morristown West 42, Dobyns-Bennett 33 MORRISTOWN — Jhaniya Mitchell, injured during Morristown West's earlier loss at Dobyns-Bennett, scored 12 points to lead a balanced effort in Tuesday's grudge match at Michael R. Reed Gymnasium. Jocelyn Murray fired in 11, and Kalyssa Dinkins (two 3-pointers) had 10. MoWest led 19-18 at the half before taking a 33-23 lead to the fourth quarter. Ariana Thomas scored seven to lead the Lady Indians. BOYS Providence Academy 85, Berean Christian 53 JOHNSON CITY — Gavin Winfrey already had 19 points by halftime, hitting two 3-pointers and 9-of-12 free throws for the game in his 27-point outing for Providence. Four other players scored in double figures for the Knights, Cole Blanton hitting four 3s to end with 14 points. Xander Manning fired in 13, Luke Gilmer had 11 and Grant Hudson 10 including three triples. Lincoln Wilkerson led Berean with 15. Unicoi County 78, Elizabethton 71 ELIZABETHTON — Jackson Simmons came to life in the second quarter, hitting from deep twice and scoring 12 of his game-high 24 points for the Blue Devils. Carter Simmons (17), A.J. Thomas (16) and Brady Simmons (10) joined him in double figures while burying two 3s apiece, as Unicoi County hit from outside 11 times. Nathan Bailey led the Cyclones with 20. Evan Chambers hit all eight of his free throws to end with 18 points. Hudson Pate (5-of-6 free throws) scored 13 points, and Justin Whitehead nine. Hampton 72, University High 50 HAMPTON — Chase Davenport shot 9-of-14 from the court, 3-of-6 from long distance, in his 22-point night for the Bulldogs. Colby Clark finished just behind him with 19 points and a team-high four steals, while Bryce Fagan had a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. Janson West led the Buccaneers with 16 points. Mekhi Yocum and Zulum Aninyei both had 10. Unaka 77, Cloudland 41 ROAN MOUNTAIN — John Hardin gunned in 34 points for the Rangers, 16 of those in the opening frame before his 10-point second quarter. Aiden Walsh knocked down two 3s to end with 12 points. Uriah Jarrett (9) and Bryce Birchfield (8) led the Highlanders. Cherokee 66, Greeneville 62 ROGERSVILLE — Elijah Carmack, held to just nine points through the first three quarters, dropped 10 in the fourth quarter and then eight more in overtime as the Chiefs took sole possession of first place in District 2-3A. He finished with 27, burying six free throws in the extra frame. Landon Jeffers added 13 points, and Isaiah Jones 10 as Cherokee went on a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter. Greeneville's Zy Neal forced overtime with his 3-pointer at the buzzer, tying the score at 55. Neal hit from deep three times and scored 13 points. Yordan Mills had a team-high 14 points, Taren Claridy 14 and Parker Quillen 12. Grainger 52, Volunteer 49 CHURCH HILL — Jackson Trent dropped 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for the Grizzlies, shooting 6-of-8 at the foul line. Carter Williams led the way with 19, seven coming in the fourth quarter including his third 3-pointer. Griffin Head led Volunteer with a game-high 23 points. Amarion Graves hit two 3s and scored eight. Morristown West 57, Dobyns-Bennett 54 MORRISTOWN — Will DesGroseilliers fired in 23 points with a pair of 3s, helping the Trojans avenge a blowout loss in Kingsport earlier this year. Julian Sexton (two 3s) scored 11 points and Jamere Williams eight, as MoWest led rallied from down 22-16 at the half to take a 41-36 lead to the fourth. T.J. Maxwell scored 14 for the Indians, hitting three 3s in the second half. Kaden Cutlip, who knocked down three triples of his own, scored 11 points, and Elijah Thomas had nine.