Grant Slatten becomes the top scorer in White County history

 Dec. 21 was the last night of the Sonic Shootout, where Webb School (Bell Buckle) would win the tournament.

Earlier in the week, Gracie Dodgen broke the individual three-point record and the Warriorettes’ individual game record of 42 points, with 15 threes and 45 points. Now, Grant Slatten has broken his own record of 44 points with 59, and he becomes the leading scorer in White County history.

The first game of the day consisted of McMinn Central versus Cookeville boys. By the end of the first quarter, the Cookeville Cavs were up 14-7. They would take the lead and not look back. Their drive and kick manner led them to success. At the end of the half, the score was 40-18. McMinn tried to chip away little by little, but Cookeville was on a roll. McMinn scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, being their most scored. Gabe Masingale finished with 15 for them. The final score was 72-47. Cookeville’s Madewell and Oakley led their team with 20 and 18.

Goodpasture and York girls played next. This game was back and forth all the way through. Goodpasture outscored York 12-10 in the first quarter. During the second, Leffew tied it up for York at 14. Soon after, York’s Johnson scored a bucket for them to take the lead at 14-16. This forced a Goodpasture timeout; they scored four points after, taking the lead back with 18-16 at the half. By the six-minute mark in the third, the score was tied at 20. At 3:47, York was down one with Leffew on the line. She made the first, and, after a timeout from Goodpasture, she knocked down the second. The Lady Dragons had taken the lead again. The score was 26-29 in York’s favor after three. A technical foul on Goodpasture would start the fourth quarter with Leffew at the line, making both. Less than a minute in, Hawkins made a three for Goodpasture, and Wharton made a bucket right after so they could take back the lead. York made two baskets back to back, putting them up 32-35. The Lady Dragons fouled, but Goodpasture couldn’t get the free throws to fall. They continued to trade baskets in between timeouts. With less than 30 seconds left, York misses two looks, and Goodpasture recovers the ball for the win of 38-35. Wharton led Goodpasture, scoring 21. Leffew scored 16 for York.

The third game of the day was Webb School and Kingston girls. Webb got an early jump, leading 9-0, with four left in the first. Lemons made two free throws, putting Kingston on the board. Another bucket by Kingston would make the score 11-4, with less than 1:30 remaining. Webb scored a bucket, making the score 13-4 at the end of one. Webb took off and Kingston couldn’t keep them still. With 53 seconds left in the half, Webb was up 29-9. Kingston’s Macey Neal and Maris Neal both made threes right before the half ended. The score was 29-15 starting the third quarter being Kingston’s ball. Webb pressured the ball a lot, which led them to many baskets. It was 42-19 at the end of the third, and the final was 50-28. Webb took the lead and never lost it. They went undefeated, making them the 13th annual champions. Dwyer led them to a trophy with 23 points. 

White County boys battled Cumberland County next. Kade Clark hit a layup 30 seconds into the game. Cumberland’s Torres answered with a corner three. Grant Slatten went to the other end for two, and again, Torres answered with a three. Slatten knocked down two free throws, tying the score at six. Inman drained a three, allowing the Jets to take the lead again. Slatten scored a two, but so did Crockett for Cumberland. Slatten scored the next 10 points, which made him the all-time leading scorer of WCHS. He needed 16 coming into the game, and he scored 17 in the first quarter. By the end of the first quarter, Sparta led 24-15.

The Jets opened the second quarter with a backside layup. Slatten battled back with a three. Then Cumberland’s Floyd made a three as well. Tanner Paul battles hard on the boards for two offensive rebounds and was rewarded with a completed and1. The score was 30-20, with 6:56 to go in the half. Floyd hit another three, chipping away at the score. The Warriors go to the other end, but can’t get a shot to fall. Clark takes a charge to get the ball back. Slatten gets fouled and makes both free throws. Inman goes the other way with it and knocks down a three. Tanner drove for a bucket, making the score 32-26, with 5:50 to spare. Clark scored a two, but the Warriors wouldn’t score again until four minutes to go. Cumberland converted on this and cut the score to 36-32. Slatten hit a pair of free throws, giving the Warriors a six-point lead. Inman hit five points in a row cutting their loss to one point. Slatten drives and get fouled, hitting both free throws. Floyd hit a three that tied the game at 40. With 2:04 remaining, the Warriors struggled to grab the rebound and accidentally tipped it to Inman, who made a layup to take the lead. Slatten makes a free throw. Conatser goes the other way with it and knocks down a three. Sparta tries to land a three, but it doesn’t go. Inman lets it fly and drains a three. Cumberland is up seven, with a minute to go. Reed makes a free throw for the Jets as well. The Warriors took control of the rest of the quarter: Slatten and Thomas Paul hit threes, making the score 47-49 at the end of the half, Cumberland leading. At this point, Slatten had scored 31 by the half.

Staring the third, Cumberland got an offensive rebound and kicked it to Inman for 3. At 7:16, Slatten drove for two. Inman challenged back with a two as well. Tucker Nash drives and misses, but Daniel Gentry battled for the offensive put back. He makes another bucket soon after, bringing the score to 53-54. At the 6:18 mark, Torres strips a three. Back-to-back buckets by Tanner Paul tied the game at 57. Inman fired back with a three, and then two more points. Cumberland went to the line and missed - Slatten took off for his first dunk of the night. A bucket by Conatser put the Jets up 64-59. With 4:22 left, Nash drove to the basket for two. Torres would go the other way, though, for a three. The Warriors were in a battle, but they never gave up. Both teams traded buckets, and a completed and1 by Clark cut the difference to 3. Cumberland recovered an offensive rebound with less than three minutes to go and finds Reed for a two. On the other end, Clark drives to the basket. Cumberland misses on their end, and Clark assisted Slatten for two, leaving the Warriors to trail 71-70. Nash gets back to back steals, one of which leads to a Slatten bucket. With 54 seconds left, Tanner Paul blocks a Cumberland shot, and Nash finds Slatten for a layup. Slatten dives on the floor for a loose ball, recovers it, and makes a move for two points to end the third quarter. The Warriors lead 76-71.

Cumberland County gets the ball to start the fourth, but Nash steals it and goes all the way for two. Cumberland makes a free throw, and the Warriors found Nash for three. The Warriors would pull away with the win in the fourth. The Jets turned the ball over and fouled quite a bit, giving Sparta the hammer to drive in the nail. If the Warriors missed, a teammate was there for an offensive put back. Slatten followed Nash’s shot, Clark and Slatten followed Paul’s shot, and Slatten followed his own shot a couple of times. Slatten dunked his second time during the game. Tanner Paul, Gentry, and Richmond all scored before the buzzer sounded. Sparta beat Crossville 105-82. Grant broke his own record of 44 with 59 for the most individual points in a game.

 Slatten: 59pt

Clark: 16pt

Ta. Paul: 12pt

Nash: 7pt

Gentry: 6pt

Th. Paul: 3pt

Richmond: 2pt

The Sparta girls played the last game of the night against Clarkrange. Alaina Stiles scored the first basket for the Warriorettes. They, too, would find themselves in a battle to the end. At 7:40, Howard scored a basket for Clarkrange, 2-2. Addison Frazier drives to the goal and gets fouled. She made 1/2. A #24 Monday bucket would allow Clarkrange to take the lead of 3-4. Quick found Nia Powers on the block for two. Right after, Stiles drove for 2. #24 Monday stole the ball and scored two points. A shot from Gracie Dodgen at 5:50 wouldn’t fall, but Frazier rebounded and found Quick in the corner for three. Stiles fouled #24 Monday, and she went 2/2 at the line. Powers made a great move on the other end for a Sparta bucket, 12-8. #0 Monday drove to cut the score to 2 points. Frazier drove on the other end and got fouled. She shot 1/2. Turnovers for both teams initiated a scoring lull. With 2:47 left, Stiles made two free throws. Clarkrange had trouble on the other end, and Celeste Reed found Dodgen in the corner for three. Clarkrange’s Stowers hit a three, but Quick answered with one, too. Thirteen seconds remained when Reed assisted Dodgen with a two pointer. #24 Monday made 2/2 free throws on the other end. At the end of the first, the score was 23-15 Sparta.

The Lady Buffaloes possessed the ball at the start of the second. Reed fouled and sent #42 Monday to the line where she made both. At 7:08, Reed drove and kicked it to Dodgen for three. Shortly after, Frazier knocked down a three and forced a Clarkrange timeout. The score at 29-17. After the timeout, Reed powered it up for two. On the other end, Pile scored a layup, making the game 31-19. With 5:40 remaining, Powers drives and completes the and1. Reed gets fouled and sinks both of her free throws. About a minute passes, and Clarkrange got a backside layup. A couple of baskets were traded, with a Stiles three and Clarkrange foul shots to end the second at 43-27.

Fifty seconds into the third is when the first basket would be scored. #24 Monday knocked down a three and then a two right after. On the other end, Reed drove for two. Quick following with a three on the next play. With 3:52 left, #0 Monday stripped a three. Stiles bounced back with a 3 as well, forcing another Clarkrange timeout. The Warriorettes gained possession, and Frazier penetrated and kicked it to Powers for two, the score 53-35. #42 Monday missed her free throws, and Reed got the board to take it to the other end but missed, and Powers followed it. At 1:16, #0 Monday hit a three, and then she followed a missed layup for two, making the score 55-40. With five seconds left, Powers scored a layup assisted by Reed. The end of third quarter score was 57-40.

During the fourth, Clarkrange really amped up their intensity, trying to beat Sparta. #24 Monday scored a two right off the bat. Powers went to the other end for a layup, 59-42. Before the seven-minute mark, #0 Monday sank a three. This forced a White County timeout, with a 12-point game. Sparta got the ball back but turned it over. Clarkrange missed, and Reed scored 2. Frazier fouled #0 Monday, and she made 1/2. White County turned the ball over, which led to seven points from Clarkrange, 61-55. Powers hit a three with less than three minutes remaining. She also hit a two after a Clarkrange miss. Pile would hit 2 free throws for the Lady Buffaloes, making the score 66-57. Dodgen made a layup and #0 Monday would take it for a layup as well. #24 Monday then got the ball and dropped a three. This cut the score to 68-62. With a minute left in the game, Pile got fouled and made both free throws. Sparta panicked and turned the ball over, which Pile converted to a basket. She made the score 68-66, Clarkrange trailing two. At 21.3, Clarkrange had the ball inbound, and a jump ball would be Sparta’s. With 10 seconds left, a hold was called on Clarkrange, and White County inbounded it. Quick scored a layup right at the buzzer. The Warriorettes won 70-66. #0 Monday led the Lady Buffaloes with 20.

Powers: 20pt 8rebs 2st

Frazier: 5pt 10ast

Dodgen: 12pt 2ast

Stiles: 12pt 2st

Quick: 11pt 3ast

Reed: 8pt 6ast 4rebs 2st

 Brown: 2pt