Lady Cyclones claim District 1-AAA championship over Unicoi Co.
Published 8:56 am Tuesday, February 21, 2023
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The Elizabethton Lady Cyclones claimed the 2023 District 1-AAA Girls' Basketball Championship with a
convincing 56-33 win over Unicoi Co.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The 2023 District 1-AAA Girls' All-Tournament team included: Marlee Mathena - MVP - Elizabethton, Lina Lyon - Elizabethton,
Reiley Whitson - Elizabethton, Olivia Holly - Elizabethton, Haley Rush - Unicoi Co., Jocelyn Metcalf - Unicoi Co., Allie Lingerfelt - Unicoi Co., Jarrell Tobar - Tennessee High, Kendall Cross - Tennessee High, and Jenna Hare - Sullivan East.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Elizabethton's Reiley Whitson works the basketball against the Unicoi Co. defense.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Lady Cyclone guard Lina Lyon pushes the basketball toward the EHS goal.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Olivia Holly attacks the rim for the Lady Cyclones.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Tournament MVP Marlee Mathena pulls up for a short-range jump shot.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Maddie Fowler pulls the trigger on a jump shot in the Lady Cyclones win over Unicoi Co. to claim the District 1-AAA Girls Championship.
STAR CORRESPONDENT
The Unicoi County Lady Blue Devils knew the only chance to capture the 2023 District 1-AAA Girl’s Championship against the host Elizabethton Lady Cyclones was to slow the game down and control the tempo of the basketball game.
For the first 16 minutes, the plan seemed to be effective; however, it wasn’t going to be enough as the Lady Cyclones rolled in the second half to take a 56-33 victory and the district title.
Tournament MVP Marlena Mathena picked right back up where she left off in the semifinal game against Sullivan East as the junior post player scored ten points in the opening half to push Elizabethton out front 30-17 at the break.
Lina Lyon backed Mathena up with seven points in the first half, while Reiley Whitson chipped in five points.
The Lady Blue Devils were paced in the opening half by Olivia Bailey, who tossed in six points. Jocelyn Metcalf added four points.
Coming out of the break, the Lady Cyclones went back to their bread and butter, feeding Mathena, who continued to put the ball in the bucket while also drawing six trips to the foul line connecting on 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, to add 11 more points to her ledger total to finish with a game-high 21 points.
Lyon finished her night in double figures with 11 while Renna Lane totaled seven points. Maddie Fowler and Whitson finished the contest with five points apiece with Katie Lee and Olivia Holly closing out the Lady Cyclone scoring with four and three points, respectively.
Metcalf finished with 12 points to lead the Lady Blue Devils. Allie Lingerfelt contributed seven points, while Haley Rush and Bailey added six points each.
Regional play begins on Friday night at 7 pm with the following games:
Claiborne County at Elizabethton
Cocke County at Unicoi Co.
Sullivan East at Greeneville
Tennessee High at Grainger Co.
The regional tournament will return to Elizabethton for the semifinal and championship games.
2023 District 1-AAA All-Tournament Team
Marlee Mathena – MVP – Elizabethton
Lina Lyon – Elizabethton
Reiley Whitson – Elizabethton
Olivia Holly – Elizabethton
Haley Rush – Unicoi Co.
Jocelyn Metcalf – Unicoi Co.
Allie Lingerfelt – Unicoi Co.
Jarrell Tobar – Tennessee High
Kendall Cross – Tennessee High
Jenna Hare – Sullivan East
