Hot start helps Silverdale Baptist roll past Notre Dame
Silverdale Baptist Academy’s Ryleigh Hoover is not afraid to let the ball fly.
The Lady Seahawks’ senior shooting guard made all three of her first-quarter 3-pointers, including one launched from 24-feet — in front of the Notr Dame bench — during Tuesday’s Division II-AA East 2A region matchup.
A senior-led Silverdale Baptist team could not be slowed early on, scoring the first 24 points of the game against their district rival to propel a 54-40 road victory.
“The start we had tonight shows just how unified we are,” said Hoover, who has a chance to crack 100 3-pointers made this season and break the school record of 98. “We are a team that wants to all contribute as one, together. We all bring our own spark to the floor.”
Senior point guard Tessa Gibson showed why she is one of the city’s top on-ball defenders as well as floor generals.
Gibson’s quick hands and body control helped her shield the basket on a pair of 1-on-1 battles with Notre Dame junior standout Kenzie Campbell. The third-year Silverdale starter also helped her teammates with six assists while Gibson added four steals and a block in 12 minutes of action.
“Tessa is the ultimate team player,” Lady Seahawks coach Victor Underwood said. “She is so coachable and the type of leader every coach dreams of. She doesn’t care about getting hers, she just wants the team to do well. These girls are clicking really well right now and don’t want this season to end.”
The Lady Seahawks (16-7, 5-0) clinched the No. 1 seed for the district tournament with their seventh straight win and have 27 straight victories over league opponents dating back to January 4, 2019.
Senior Becca Lamb and sophomore Claire Bolton were strong in the post adding 20 points for Silverdale, while Lamb finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two assists.
With a 9-1 record since returning from Christmas break, Silverdale’s Lamb has scored double digits in each contest.
“Becca is finishing so well around the rim,” Underwood added. “She has bought in to what our post coach Rachel Sanders is teaching her and she’s making a big impact for us.”
Notre Dame (6-7, 2-2) was led by Mary Fillauer who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
In the boys’ game, Notre Dame hit 10 3-pointers in a 56-31 win to improve to 13-4 overall.
Four different players finished in double figures for the Irish — Tim Vaughn (14), Cole McCormick (12), Cal Price (11) and Bryson Smith (10).
Brett Wright led Silverdale with 11 points, while Owen Neal scored 10 third quarter points.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
› Sale Creek 68, Arts & Sciences 37: Kayla Phillips and Keilyn Morgan combined for 28 points and 21 rebounds, while Shelby Defore scooped up 10 rebounds in a dominant win for the Lady Panthers (11-3, 4-1). Niya McGhee finished with a game-high 18 points for CSAS.
› Sequatchie County 56, Marion County 47: Ella Edgmon surpassed 1,000 points in her career as she scored 21 points and had five steals in the Lady Indians’ win. Sequatchie County also received 15 points from Addy Edgmon, while Dylan Belk hit four 3-pointers and had 14 points.
› Bradley Central 48, Cleveland 42: The top-ranked Bearettes staged off an upset bid at home as they responded late after a 35-all tie through three quarters.
› Trion 47, Armuchee 40: The Lady Bulldogs (14-3, 7-0) earned the Region 6-A public win as Chloe Murdock scored a game-high 20 points, eclipsing 1,000 points for her career.
› Ringgold 55, Murray County 40: Rachel Lopez had 17 points, 12 coming on 3-pointers, and added five assists, while Baleigh Pitts had 13 points and Riley Nayadley 11 points and eight rebounds for the Lady Tigers in the Region 6-AAA win.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
› Boyd Buchanan 78, St. Andrews-Sewanee 27: Jaylon Moore scored 13 points while Ryan Lopez hit three of the Buccaneers nine 3-pointers to improve to 11-6 overall and 6-1 in Division II East 2A play. Nathan Miller added nine points and a dunk in the home win.
› McCallie 55, Chattanooga Christian 45: Recent Memphis football commitment Eric Rivers scored 23 points while a lockdown Blue Tornado defense did not allow more than 10 points in any of the first three quarters. Nic Eng connected on five 3-pointers for the Chargers.
› Signal Mountain 45, Red Bank 43: The Eagles scored 21 fourth quarter points and were led by senior guard Benjamin Burns who finished with a gamehigh 13 points. Burns also hit a last-second put back shot last week for Signal Mountain’s first win ever over Brainerd.
› Brainerd 48, Central 45: Keon Wheeler scored 13 of his game-high 15 points in the second half to lead the Panthers to victory. Central was led by Kenneth Steward with 12 points.
› Knox Catholic 72, Baylor 49: Troy Boynton’s 18-point effort was not enough as Knox Catholic was in command from start to finish.
› Arts & Sciences 87, Sale Creek 54: The Patriots were led by Ethan Brown’s 19 points, while Micah Wright pulled down 14 rebounds. Jarius Cameron (14), Justin Brown (12) and Louis Bell (11).
› East Hamilton 63, Soddy-Daisy 47: Class AAA’s sixthranked Hurricanes received 21 points from Cade Pendleton and 19 points from Marcus Long, who made all seven free throws. Jordan Harris also had 13 points for East Hamilton (11-2, 6-1 5-AAA). Soddy-Daisy was led by Logan Ricketts 20 points.
› Sequatchie County 54, Marion County 42: Carter Bradford led the way with 19 points and six assists. Sequatchie County also received five 3-pointers from Brenden Cotton and Baron Cribbs had 12 points and five steals.
› Heritage 61, Northwest Whitfield 58: Heritage completed an important Region 7-AAAA regular season sweep of Northwest despite losing leading scorer Cooper Terry early with a foot injury. Carson Palmer led the Generals (13-5, 9-1) with 17 points, while Caden Snyder scored seven of his 14 points in the final period as Heritage overcame a 45-39 deficit. Ty Loveless scored six of his 10 points in the final quarter for the winners. Chandler Jackson had a game-high 26 points for the Bruins (11-6, 5-4), with Collin Hall and Will Buckner adding 10 and nine points, respectively.
With three games remaining in the regular season Heritage has a game lead in the loss column on Cedartown.
› Christian Heritage 79, Excel Christian Academy 41:
The Lions (14-2, 4-0) remained perfect in Region 7-A private as freshman Jax Abernathy scored a game-high 19 points, with senior Nash Bingham adding 17 points and four blocks. Senior Evan Lester, who just committed to Georgia Southern University to play football, added 11 points and 10 rebounds, with freshman Zundra Jackson adding 11 points, seven boards and five steals.
› Chattooga 56, Model 55:
The Indians won the Region 7-AA first-place showdown as Jaylon Johnson scored a gamehigh 23 points, 18 coming in the first half as Chattooga (11-2, 7-0) built a 33-29 lead. Cash Allen added 15 points for the Indians, while Dane Fisher topped Model (14-4, 7-1) with 18.
› Murray County 55, Ringgold 42: Haden Newport scored 16 points, nine coming in the third quarter, as Murray improved to 11-4 overall and 7-2 in Region 6-AAA.
WRESTLING
› Walker Valley 53, Soddy-Daisy 20: The Mustangs received first round pins from Christian Wilson (132), Garrison McCann (145) and Jacob Anderson (220) in Tuesday’s road win. Other wins for Walker Valley came from Jason Hall (15-0 tech fall), David Cantrell (9-3 decision) and Heath Tanksley who edged Landon Lewis, 7-6, in a state ranked battle at 182 pounds. Soddy Daisy’s Gavin Hamrick had a first round pin at 152, while Andrew Lewis had a 11-2 major decision at 113 and Hunter Bankes won by an 18-6 major at 120.