Dec. 17—MT. JULIET — Perhaps it was the mojo brought to the house by the 2005 state champions, but the 2025 Mt. Juliet girls did to Wilson Central what their Lady Bear ancestors did whenever the Lady Wildcats visited MJHS — beat them.
The Lady Bears’ 66-51 win last Friday came moments before the ’05 champions, in the 20th anniversary season, were honored on the floor of the gym in which they never played. The ’05 team played at the Tommy Martin Gym at what is now Mt. Juliet Middle School. The current MJHS opened in 2008. Wilson Central, which won the state title the following year and again two seasons after that, never beat MJ in “The Cave”, though the Lady Wildcats did have success over their West Wilson rival at home and in region tournament play, knocking them out several times.
“I think the girls were extremely excited to have them there watching them,” said Lady Bears coach Jeremy Hawks. “So I definitely think that was part of the magic of the night.”
The current Lady Bears rallied from early deficits of 5-0 and 7-3 to a 23-12 first-quarter lead and were never threatened as they improved to 4-6. They led 43-20 at halftime and 58-39 going into the fourth.
“We came out firing on all cylinders,” Hawks said. “The press was working really good.
“Coach (Jason) Knowles does a great job over there. He has a really good sophomore class. We got some of them in foul trouble early which he had to go to his bench probably sooner than he wanted to which helped us. Once we got on a roll, we had a good first quarter and put them behind the eight-ball and kind of rolled with it the rest of the game.”
Makayla Hopson sank 6 of 8 shots from the floor in leading the Lady Bears with 15 points while Claire Emery and Addy Osborne each added 11. McClaine Ringenberg racked up eight points, Aaliyah Holman seven, Sara Valencia five, Isabella Craig and Ava Grisham four each, Carlie Scurlock two and Avery Haymans a free throw.
Wilson Central, which slipped to 5-6, was led by Kylie Jo Byrom’s 19, which included five 3-pointers. She had two triples in her 10-point first quarter. Brylee Fly finished with 11 points, Kylie Moss eight, Eliana Ramsey seven and Olivia Kinning, Victoria Campos and Callie Turner two apiece. Fly had six rebounds and four steals while Ramsey racked up five assists.
Mt. Juliet traveled to Springfield last night and will host Rockvale at 6 p.m. Friday.
Wilson Central was coming off a 63-13 wipeout of Siegel in Murfreesboro last Tuesday.
The Lady Wildcats led 18-1 at the first-quarter break and 35-6 at halftime.
Eliana Ramsey racked up seven 3-pointers on her way to 21 points while Brylee Fly finished with 10. Olivia Kinning connected on three fourth-quarter 3s for her nine while Riley Spencer added eight, including a pair of triples. Kylie Jo Byrom bagged two treys for her six while Alexis Jackson finished with five and Kylie Moss and Annie Wilson two each.
Wilson Central will travel to Green Hill at 6 p.m. Friday.
Lebanon turns tables on Green Hill in second quarterLebanon turned the tables in the second quarter last Friday and pulled away from visiting Green Hill 58-34 at Campbell Brandon Gym/Hester Gibbs Court.
The Lady Hawks led 10-6 at the first-quarter break. But Lebanon used an 18-7 second to go up 24-17 at halftime before a 20-7 third made it 44-24.
Maggie Kelley led Lebanon with 12 points and seven steals while Naleiya Withrow-Walker had 10 points, four assists and six steals. Ellie Beth McDonald notched nine points while Ro Dowell added eight. Samia Panye put in a pair of 3-pointers as she and Tramaria Neal each scored six while Keeli Davis threw in three and Tiara Spencer and Kiah Seay scored two apiece.
Alyssa Potier led the Lady Hawks with eight points while Kataira Tolbert scored seven, Sullie Gerik and Regan Perkins six apiece, McKenna Solomon five and McKinlee Stone two.
Lebanon will host the annual Kerry Malone Power Games on Friday and Saturday. The Devilettes will face Lee (Huntsville, Ala.) at 7 p.m. Friday and Enwworth at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
Other girls’ games include Wilson Central against Melrose at 10 a.m. Saturday. Ensworth and Webb will meet at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the main gym while Cannon County and Melrose battle in the auxiliary gym at 6, followed by Stewarts Creek and Providence Christian at 7:30. On Saturday, Lee will take on Cannon County at 2:30 p.m. and Stewarts Creek will face Webb in the 7 p.m. finale, both in the big gym.
Watertown rolls past Boyd ChristianMCMINNVILLE — Unbeaten Watertown rolled to its seventh win Monday night 60-31 at Boyd Christian.
The Lady Purple Tigers led 24-10 at the first-quarter break, 27-18 at halftime and 37-25 going into the fourth.
Izzie Burns led three Lady Tigers in double figures with 14 points. Molly Followill and Julianna Pruitt each put in a pair of 3-pointers on their way to 12 apiece. Macie Brelje notched nine points, Dailey Hight eight and Maggie Pearson five.
Brooke Kesey led the Broncos with 13 points.
Friendship falls in fourth to EaglevilleAfter losing 49-6 at Nashville Christian last Friday, Friendship Christian put up a much closer fight with visiting Eagleville on Monday before the Eagles escaped the Bay Family Sportsplex with a 37-29 triumph.
The Lady Commanders scored the first two points before falling into foul trouble and behind 7-4 at the first-quarter break. A three-point play by Maggie Reed briefly put Friendship in the lead during the second period before the Eagles went back in front 13-12 at halftime. Eight third-period points by Rylee Agee helped FCS go up 20-18 by the end of the third. Four points by Reed in the fourth helped the hosts build a four-point lead in the final stanza.
But Meah Thompson tossed in 12 of her 16 points in the fourth as she sank all six of her free throws in the period and all eight for the game to help send the Lady Eagles back to Rutherford County victorious.
Rylee Warbritton tossed in 10 points for Eagleville.
Agee led the Lady Commanders with 11 points, all in the second half. Reed scored seven while Annika Langford finished with four points and had a solid night on the boards. Kate Petty, Natalie Major and Anna Kate Reed each tossed in two points and Reese Staggs a free throw as Friendship fell to 3-8 going into Christmas break.
Lady Tigers top Trousdale CountyWATERTOWN — Watertown remained undefeated last Friday with a 48-41 win over Trousdale County.
The Lady Purple Tigers led 10-9 at the first-quarter break, 22-16 at halftime and 35-29 through three as they improved to 6-0.
Izzie Burns led the Lady Tigers with 12 points while Molly Followill finished with nine, Dailey Hight and Julianna Pruitt seven apiece, Macie Brelje six, Larkin Cherry four and Maggie Pearson three.
Trousdale County, under former Watertown coach Paige McKinney, was led by Braylee Potts’ 12 points, which included three 3-pointers.
Watertown was at Boyd Christian on Monday night and hosted DeKalb County on Tuesday. The Lady Tigers will travel to East Tennessee this weekend for the Smoky Mountain Classic.
