CCMS finishes season with 8-6 record
An overtime win in the Mountain League basketball tournament allowed the seventh-grade Lady Cats to extend their basketball season.
Clear Creek Middle School met the Dawson County Tigers in the opening round last Tuesday and CCMS came away with a 46-45 win.
Clear Creek faced the top seeded White County Warriors in the semifinals the next day. WCMS gained an early lead in the second quarter and held on for a 37-29 victory.
Versus Dawson, CCMS got off to a slow start and trailed 7-4, but the Cats came on strong in the second quarter. Aliza Chastain scored nine of her 12 points before the half as CCMS gained a 17-12 edge.
DCMS recovered offensively in the third quarter, and Lady Cats Carly Becerra and Bree Burnette each hit a three to help CCMS cling to a 26-24 lead.
Both teams had their best offensive quarter in the fourth. While Dawson made three shots from the field, it was its 10 made free throws that allowed the Tigers to extend the game to overtime.
With the score tied at 40-all, CCMS made one more field goal than DCMS and also converted 2/4 free throws to come away with a one-point win.
Both Burnette and Chastain scored 12 points, Becerra added seven, Chelsea Griggs and Gracie Pritchett totaled five apiece, and Grace Bramlett finished the game with four.
Against White County in the semifinals, Bramlett, Becerra and Chastain helped CCMS gain a 8-7 lead after a quarter. However, a scoreless second by the Cats saw the Warriors garner a 14-8 lead by halftime.
CCMS kept pace in the second half, but could not overcome the deficit. Bramlett and Chastain both scored five points in the third quarter, and White held a 25-18 lead with seven minutes to play.
Chastain kept scoring for CCMS in the fourth, and Becerra and Madison Bradshaw both scored two. White did enough from the free-throw line to come away with a nine-point win.
Chastain led all scorers with 16 points, and Bramlett scored seven. Becerra added four points and Bradshaw had two.
CCMS finished the season with an 8-6 record.
“The girls play well together and are a really strong team,” said CCMS coach Jessica Hensley. “This group is very invested, and they have a lot of heart. I feel like they’ll be hard to beat next year. They read each other well and play well together. In the few games we lost, I feel like they could’ve gone either way.
“For most of the season, I played my five starters on the eighth-grade, too. They gave everything they had on both teams.”