The Lady ‘Landers started quick and never looked back on Saturday night.
Cloudland looked the part of the higher seed as they rolled to a 58-25 victory over Unaka in the semifinals of the District 1-A tournament at Daniel Boone.
Cloudland advanced into the District 1-A Championship game where they will take on North Greene on Monday, while the Lady Rangers will face Hampton in the consolation game. Both games are set for Monday with the consolation game set for a 6p tip and the championship tilt following at 7:30p.
The opening minutes were all Cloudland.
Mandy Benfield scored the first four points of the game and Cloudland saw shots from Heaven Caraway and Kenzie Birchfield help extend the run. The Lady ‘Landers limited Unaka’s opportunities as the Lady Rangers went scoreless for the first quarter as CHS held a 12-0 lead.
Cloudland pushed the advantage to 17-0 with buckets from Gracie Freeman and K. Birchfield, before MacKenzie Depew put Unaka on the board nearly 10 minutes into the game. Macy Ensor added a 3-pointer for the Unaka cause, but Cloudland ended the half with six straight points from Leah Birchfield to give CHS a 29-5 advantage at the half.
Ensor and company were able to get the offense going in the second half as Ensor and Jada Whitehead hit shots as UHS went on a 7-3 run. Cloudland, however, snapped the run with one of their own as they extended the lead to 50-18 at the end of the quarter.
The final quarter saw both squads trade shots and maintain the margin.
Cloudland was paced by Caraway’s 14 points. J. Birchfield scored nine points for the CHS effort, while K. Birchfield and L. Birchfield had eight points apiece. Gracie Freeman scored six points.
Ensor finished with 12 points, while Whitehead scored five points. Lyndie Ramsey and Depew each had four points.
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