A good crowd came expecting to see a showdown between two Class AA girls’ teams that are the cream of the crop in Northeast Tennessee as Greeneville and Elizabethton entered Saturday night’s contest at John Treadway Gym with undefeated records.

The Lady Cyclones threw the pressure at the Lady Greene Devils early to build a 28-12 lead at the half and kept the scoring spurts coming in the second half to take a 55-37 win.

“That is our staple you might say in the fact we try and pride ourselves in playing defense night in and night out, and I thought tonight we played against a team that had a lot of determination, a lot of competitiveness,” said Elizabethton head coach Len Dugger. “I thought we defended them well.”

“I think that everything that Sydni (Lollar) got, she had to work extremely hard for,” Dugger added.

Lollar did get the better offensive output with 21 points to lead all scorers for the game, however the Lady Cyclones (8-0) had a more distributed point total during the course of the contest placing seven players in the scoring column.

Kayla Marosites led the Lady Cyclone onslaught with 14 points with Emily Kiser tickling the twine for 11 points.

Kelci Marosites (9), Emily Schubert (8), Brittany Campbell (7), Haley Burleson (4), and Melenda Perry (2) all dented the scoreboard for a well-rounded effort offensively.

However, it was the defense that favored the Lady Cyclones as Elizabethton effectively frustrated the Lady Greene Devils (9-1) the entire night as Greeneville just couldn’t get on track scoring only four, eight, and eight points through the first three quarters of play.

A 17-point fourth quarter was the only thing that made the deficit smaller than what it could have been in a losing effort.

Sydney Leonard and Kenzie Ellenburg scored six each for the Lady Greene Devils behind Lollar’s effort.

Kayla Marosites had solid stats across the board to go along with her leading offensive output hauling in 11 rebounds, two assist and two steals. Kelci Marosites also was solid with 10 boards, one assist and one steal.

Emily Schubert nabbed five rebounds, added three big rejections, and also had an assist as the senior continues to play with a consistent effort night in and night out.

One player that doesn’t show up in a high-scoring capacity but brings a unique touch to the team is point guard Melenda Perry. Her performance wasn’t overlooked by her coach either.

“I thought Melenda played extremely well in that first quarter,” added Dugger. “As a point guard, now a lot of people don’t really understand what I am trying to say because most people, even kids too, they think you play good only when you score, but I thought she defended well, she was after loose balls, and I think she played extremely well.”

The Lady Cyclones will be back in action Monday in the Doc Maples Tournament at Tennessee High as they will take on Mitchell, North Carolina at 5:30 pm.

Gate City……46

Hampton…….33

For the second night in the row, the Lady Bulldogs of Hampton played a solid first half only to falter in the second half as the Lady Blue Devils of Gate City won the opening game of the night by dealing the Lady Bulldogs a 46-33 defeat.

Hampton led at the first stop 8-7 and found themselves trailing 25-21 at the half. However, coming out of the locker room the Lady Bulldogs matched the chilly temperatures outside as Hampton connected for only two points in the third quarter while Gate City added nine.

Shyanne Tuelle managed to get her groove back by connecting for 11 in the first half but only two points in the second to finish with 13 to lead Hampton.

Megan Garland and Hope Bridgeman tossed in eight points each while Kinzey Hill chipped in with four.

Jordan Houseright scored 14 to lead all scorers for the Lady Blue Devils.

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Elizabethton, 55-37

Elizabethton (55)

Kayla Marosites 14, Kelci Marosites 9, Melenda Perry 2, Emily Kiser 11, Haley Burleson 4, Emily Schubert 8, Brittany Campbell 7.

Greeneville (37)

Kenzie Ellenburg 6, Sydni Lollar 21, Katelynn Hadjopoulos 1, Sydney Leonard 6, Mindy Neas 3.

Greeneville………  4    8     8   17 – 37

Elizabethton…….14  14   13   14 – 55

3-pt goals: Greeneville 0. Elizabethton 3 (Emily Kiser, Kayla Marosites, Kelci Marosites).

Gate City, 46-33

Hampton (33)

Shyanne Tuelle 13, Hope Bridgeman 8, Kinzey Hill 4, Megan Garland 8.

Gate City (46)

Sarah Kilgore 7, Kayla Bird 6, Rachel Kilgore 5, Kaely Gose 7, Keeley Quillen 7, Jordan Houseright 14.

Gate City….……   7   18   9   12 – 46

Hampton……….  8   13   2   10 – 33

3-pt goals: Hampton 0. Gate City 4 (Kayla Bird 2, Rachel Kilgore, Keeley Quillen).