| While not a milestone, 20 wins is instead a cornerstone of good programs.
Both the Obion Central and Union City girls’ teams qualify for that standing.
Each reached the 20-win mark for the 2012-13 campaign Tuesday night in impressive fashion, the Lady Rebels beating Milan 69-33, and the No. 1 ranked UC girls blowing out winless Trenton 58-21.
The Central ladies have long been among the upper echelon in the sport with Tuesday’s victory marking the 35th time in 52 seasons the program has posted at least 20 wins in a campaign. The Lady Rebs have won 20 or more in each of the past 11 years.
On the flip side, fast-rising Union City has emerged from an undistinguished past to the top of the Class A heap, but has just four 20-win seasons since 1963-64 after improving to 20-3 with Tuesday’s blowout that represented their ninth straight win this season. The Lady Twisters have reached that mark three times in the last eight years and in back-to-back seasons.
Both the OC and UC boys also won Tuesday night, giving Obion County teams a clean sweep in three doubleheaders.
The Rebels beat Milan 56-48, while the sixth-ranked Tornadoes blew past Trenton 70-43.
The following is a recap.
OC 69, Milan 33 (G)
University of Memphis signee Brandi Goodman had her own personal milestone in the Lady Rebels’ blowout, scoring the 2,000th point of her decorated career in the second quarter.
Goodman became just the fourth player in program history to surpass that loft total, joining the program’s all-time leading scorer, Rosemary (Thompson) Coleman, who totaled 2,614 points, Cortney Neeley and Chassidy Fussell.
Goodman finished with a game-high 24 markers Tuesday.
Paige Hicks added 15 points to the victorious effort as the Lady Rebels used a 21-2 burst in the third period to break open a 35-20 game at the half.
Ashlynn Hamm scored a career-high 11 points for OC, which improved to 11-2 in District 13AA play and 20-6 overall.
UC 58, Trenton 21 (G)
Fast starts continue to be Union City’s trademark.
The No. 1-ranked Lady Tornadoes grabbed an 18-3 lead after one period and held a 35-9 advantage at the half in firming up their grip on the top spot in District 14A.
Union City then outdid the Lady Tide 18-7 in the third period.
Jackie Hudson led four Lady Twister players in double figures with 13 points. Tory Reedy and Kaleigh Bynum each had 12, and Raven Fair dropped in 11 points for UC. Moesha Marsh paced Trenton with nine points.
Union City improves to 11-0 in the District 14A.
OC 56, Milan 48 (B)
The Rebels put together back-to-back district victories on consecutive nights and crept to within one game (6-7) of .500 in league play.
A solid defensive effort in the second half in which OC (12-10 overall) held Milan to just 13 points until the late-going keyed Central’s Tuesday night triumph and completed a season sweep of the Bulldogs.
“We really did play well defensively over the final two quarters and made a lot of hustle plays,” Rebel head coach Bill Kail said of his team’s performance.
Obion Central got a balanced scoring effort with four players scoring in double figures.
Shawn Logan, Zack King and Korben Hagan tallied 12 points apiece for the victors, while Eric Torres pitched in with 10. King registered his second straight double-double, also yanking down 10 rebounds, while Hagan was just short of that status with nine caroms.
Torres came up with five steals.
UC 70, Trenton 43 (B)
The league-leading Twisters (15-7, 10-1) had little trouble against Peabody, leading 23-8 after one and 41-17 at the half before cruising over the final two periods.
Union City made 8-of-23 from 3-point range, Malik Stockdale hitting three and Marcus DeBerry two shots from beyond the arc. Stockdale led the Tornadoes with 19 points, while DeBerry added 12. Donte Simpson was good for 14 markers, and Jamie Hyde finished with nine.
A win Friday night against second-place Greenfield would wrap up the regular season district championship and top seed for the Tornadoes in the upcoming District 14A tourney. Published in The Messenger 1.30.13 |
