The WCHS Wildcats advanced Tuesday night in District 10 tourney action as they took a 74 – 52 win over the Hawks of Hampshire. With the win, they matched up with the Richland Raiders on Friday night at Richland. The Wildcats were unable to overcome the Raiders, trailing most of the game, and fell into the consolation bracket by the score of 56 – 53. This matched them up with Culleoka, who was beaten by Santa Fe in the 6:00 p.m. game on Monday night, the 21st. The Lady cats also advanced, taking a “mercy rule” 69 – 19 win over the Lady Wildcats of Santa Fe on Wednesday to face the Trojanettes of Collinwood on Saturday night in the championship game of District 10 1A. The Ladycats, who were regular season champs, took advantage of their opportunity and defeated the Trojanettes 63 – 42 to claim their 29th win of the year and the title of District 10 Champs.
The Wildcats got off to a fast start against Hampshire, going on a 14 – 0 run to begin the game. They led 18 – 1 at the end of the quarter. Hampshire fought back in the second, outscoring the ‘Cats 16 – 9, to make the score 22 – 17 at the half. In the third quarter, Justice Bell came up with a steal and basket to push the lead up. He scored 6 straight points, and the ‘Cats led 46 – 37, at the end of three quarters. They went on to take the win, 74 – 52, as the ‘Cats came up with 21 points off of 14 Hampshire turnovers.
Tyler Moser finished with 17 points on the night to lead a balanced Wildcat scoring attack. He had 5 rebounds. Bell scored 14 points and had 3 rebounds, a steal, and an assist. Cooper Shamer hit for 12 points and had 4 boards, a steal, and 5 assists. Ethan Camfield scored 10 points and had 6 rebounds with a steal and 2 assists. Austin Whitson scored 6 points and had a rebound, and Eli McClain and Landyn Prater each had 4 points. McClain had 2 rebounds and an assist, while Prater had one board and 2 assists. Ryder Butler, Sayler Skelton, and Preston Stegall each had 2 points. Butler had a rebound, and Skelton had 4, with a block and a steal. Jesse Dixon had 1 point and 2 boards.
The Lady cats forced 11 first quarter turnovers in route to a 17 – 6 lead over the Lady Wildcats of Santa Fe. They upped the margin to 35 – 12 by halftime and went on to take the win, 62 – 19. Blair Baugus and Lauren Bryant led the Lady cats in scoring with 12 and 11 points respectively. Baugus had 5 rebounds and 4 steals, while Bryant added 4 assists. Savanna McClain had 9 points with 10 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist, and Cambree Camfield had 8 points, a steal, and an assist. Kylee Brewer hit for 6 points with a rebound and 2 steals, and Jac Keaton scored 5 points, with 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist. Michaela Gallian and Kenzie Griggs each scored 4 points and a rebound apiece, off the bench. Emma Bryant and Lauren Prater each had a three-pointer, and Prater had a rebound. Alexis Maghielse and Celia Powell each hit for 2 points. Maghielse had 5 boards and an assist, while Powell had 2 rebounds, a steal, and an assist. The Lady cats forced 27 Lady Wildcat turnovers, scoring 29 points off turnovers.
On Friday night, the Wildcats got off to a slow start against the Raiders, scoring only 7 points in the opening quarter. They trailed 8 – 7. Halfway through the second period, an Ethan Camfield 3-pointer put the Wildcats on top 19 – 17, but they trailed 26 – 24 at the half. Cooper Shamer came out in the third to hit the opening basket to tie the game at 26 all, but the margin grew to double-digits, 44 – 34, by the end of the period. In the fourth, the ‘Cats made a run. A Justice Bell three with two and a half minutes left made the score 49 – 45, but Richland answered with a basket to go up 51 – 35. Ethan Camfield hit another three to make it a one possession game, 51 – 48, but the Raiders hit a pair of free throws to go back up by 5, 53 – 48. With 35.5 seconds left, Justice Bell hit another 3 to cut the margin to 54 – 53, and the ‘Cats came away with a steal on the Raider’s next possession. They missed a shot with 18.8 seconds left and had to foul. Richland went to the line and made the free throws to up the margin to 56 – 53. The ‘Cats didn’t get a good shot, but got the offensive rebound and went to the line, missing both, to seal the end the comeback and lose 56 – 53.
Justice Bell came off the bench to lead the Wildcats in scoring with 18 points. He had 4 three-pointers and 4 boards and a block. Tyler Moser registered a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and an assist. Ethan Camfield and Landyn Prater each hit for 8 points. Camfield had 4 assists, and Prater had a steal and an assist. Sayler Skelton had 5 points with 2 rebounds, and Cooper Shamer had 3 points with 5 boards and 2 assists. Eli McClain had 5 rebounds and 2 assists. The ‘Cats hit 9 of 19 shots from long range, but shot only 39% from two. They came away with only one steal on the night.
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