Big performances highlighted the opening day of Christmas tournaments for county teams on Monday. Perhaps the biggest performance belonged to Happy Valley’s Kalee Johnson as she set a new school scoring record 45 points and added 17 rebounds in the Lady Warriors’ win over Cherokee.
Unaka’s Colton Chambers had a strong game with 37 points, but the Rangers fell 73-61 to Wartburg. Not to be outdone, Kayla Marosites scored 32 points as the Lady Cyclones kicked off the prestigious Carolina Invitational with a 74-30 rout of Nove (Fla.) in Charleston, while Michael Robinson led the Cyclones with 32 points to propel Elizabethton to a 71-55 victory at the Chick-Fil-A Classic.
Happy Valley 75, Cherokee 43 (girls)
Johnson set the tone for the Lady Warriors to power HV to the victory. Happy Valley jumped out early and pulled away in the second half for the win.
Kenzie Davis scored eight points in the game, while Charli Bare nabbed nine rebounds in the game.
The Lady Warriors will take on Daniel Boone at 8 p.m., on Tuesday.
Elizabethton 74, Nova (Fla.) 30 (girls)
The Lady Cyclones jumped out to a 24-4 lead, and never looked back in the Carolina Invitational opener. Marosites had 32 points, 19 rebounds and added two steals, while Kelci Marosites added 15 points and 13 rebounds. Emily Kiser and Emily Schubert had 10 and eight points, respectively.
Elizabethton will take on South Forsyth (Ga.) on Tuesday.
Daniel Boone 79, Unaka 49 (girls)
Katlyn Weaver led Unaka with 12 points, but the Lady Rangers came up short on the opening day of the Johnson City Honda Invitational to the host Lady Trailblazers. Sierra Wright, Katyln Burrow and Lexi Garland added eight points apiece in the effort.
The Lady Rangers are slated to take on Sullivan Central on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Cloudland 52, Clinton 42 (girls)
The Lady ‘Landers kicked off the Midway Classic in style with a strong win over Clinton. Payton Johnson led the way with 20 points, while Shian Strickland tossed in 11 points. Johanna Johnson added 10 points as Cloudland held on in the later stages of the game to take the win.
Elizabethton 71, Hixson 55 (boys)
Robinson and the Cyclones set the stage early to take a nine-point lead in the first quarter and held a 33-19 lead at the break. Throughout the second half, Elizabethton extended the lead to as many as 28 points as the game was never in doubt.
In addition to Robinson’s monster effort, Bo Pless had 21 points. Alex Norwood scored 10 points.
The Cyclones will take on Cherokee on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Chuckey-Doak 64, Happy Valley 58 (boys)
Josh Hammonds scored 14 points to lead four Warriors in double-digits, but Happy Valley was unable to complete a late rally. Happy Valley had closed within one point in the final quarter.
Nathan Kyte added 12 points, while Chris Young and Brayden Sams had 11 points apiece.
The Warriors will play Volunteer at 3:30 on Tuesday.
Cherokee 47, Cloudland 32 (boys)
The ‘Landers struggled offensively throughout on the night. Preston Benfield had 14 points, while Dalton Vines added 10 points.
Cloudland will play Hixson at 5 p.m., on Tuesday.
Hampton 71, Coalfield 64 (boys)
Hampton saw three players reach double-digit scoring in the opening game of the Midway Classic. Jose Velasquez scored 23 points to lead the way, while Wyatt Lyons added 16 points.
Adam McClain scored 11 points in the game.
The Bulldogs will take on Rockwood at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Wartburg 73, Unaka 61 (boys)
Colton Chambers led the way with 37 points, but the Rangers were unable to overcome Wartburg .
Chambers and the Rangers were unable to make a late run against the Region 2 power.
Unaka will take on Sunbright on Tuesday.
