Lady Tigers win district championship

In the District 13-AAA championship with a victory over Jackson North Side on Monday night. The Lady Tigers won the game by a score of 71-63. The victory avenged a loss to the Lady Indians in last year’s district championship game. Hardin County had finished second in the district in each of the last two years. The Lady Tigers won the district championship in 2007 and in 2008.

Lady Tiger head coach Ron Burnham was proud of the way his kids battled in the tournament. “It’s been a great bunch of kids. They have worked really hard this year. The girls did a good job rebounding in the game. They’re (North Side) probably two to three inches taller at every position, but our girls did a really good job of keeping them off the glass,” said Burnham.

The Lady Tigers will play a home game in the region quarterfinals on Friday at 7 p.m. Their opponent will be the number-four team from District 14-AAA. The consolation game that will determine the number-four seed in District 14-AAA was played on Tuesday night after press time. It will be either Bartlett or Cordova.

Hannah Robinson was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player. She scored 17 points in the championship game and 27 points in their semifinal win over Brighton. Katie Terry, Keagan Handley, and Tonisha Combs joined Robinson on the All-Tournament team.

Robinson, Handley, and Combs also received honors on the All-District regular season team. The Lady Tigers also had four players named to the All-Academic team. Robinson, Handley, Combs, and Courtney VanFleet were each selected for their work on the floor and in the classroom. The Tigers finished their season last week in the district quarterfinals against Munford. The boys’ team finished the season with a record of 0-19.

The boys’ team also had several players receive post-season honors. Senior Hunter Petty was named to the regular season All-District team. Petty and J.D. Clausel were each named to the All-Academic team in District 13-AAA. They were actually the only two boys in the district who received that honor. An athlete must have a grade point average of 3.0 to qualify for All-Academic honors.

Lady Tigers 71, Jackson North Side 63 (District Finals)

After North Side took only their second lead of the game early in the fourth quarter, Hardin County answered with a 15-6 run to close out the game and capture the district championship. North Side held a 57-56 lead late in the fourth quarter before the Lady Tigers answered with their final run. Hardin County was 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to ice the victory.

The first half was close throughout with the lead staying between seven points for the first two quarters. Hardin County held a 10-8 lead after the first quarter and led 23-20 at halftime.

Hardin County built a nine-point lead in the third quarter, but North Side rallied back to pull even by the end of the quarter. The Lady Tigers held a 34-25 lead at the 4:45 mark, but North Side outscored them 17-8 in the final four minutes to tie the game at 42-42 going into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter stayed close with the teams staying between a margin of four points until the final two minutes. With the game tied at 59-59 around the three-minute mark, Hardin County outscored North Side 12-4 to secure the district championship.

Hannah Robinson and Tonisha Combs each scored 17 points in the championship game against North Side. Robinson scored 16 points in the final two quarters of the game. Katie Terry added 15 points, and Emily Gray scored 11 points. Keagan Handley chipped in with nine points.

Lady Tiger Scoring vs. North Side (71) Hannah Robinson 17, Tonisha Combs 17, Katie Terry 15, Emily Gray 11, Keagan Handley 9, Courtney VanFleet 2

Lady Tigers 66, Brighton 59 (District Semifinals)

Hardin County put together a 15-3 run midway through the second quarter and closed the first half with an 11-2 run to give them a 34-22 halftime advantage. The Lady Tigers led the game 13-8 after the opening quarter.

Brighton couldn’t pull any closer than eight points in the third quarter. The Lady Tigers led the game by a score of 47-37 after three quarters.

Hardin County controlled the fourth quarter as well. Brighton got as close as five points in the final minute, but the Lady Tigers held off the rally to pick up the seven-point victory. Hannah Robinson was the top scorer for Hardin County with 27 points. Tonisha Combs was second in scoring with 20 points. Keagan Handley also finished in double figures in scoring with 10 points.

Lady Tiger Scoring vs. Brighton (66) Hannah Robinson 27, Tonisha Combs 20, Keagan Handley 10, Katie Terry 4, Courtney VanFleet 4, Emily Gray 1

Munford 64, Tigers 37 (District Quarterfinals)

Munford jumped in front by a score of 13-7 by the end of the first quarter. The Cougars extended their lead to 33-17 by halftime and held a 37-22 lead after three quarters. Kendall Adkisson was the top scorer for Hardin County with nine points. Hunter Petty was second in scoring with six points. Jonathan Roach added five points for the Tigers.

Tiger Scoring vs. Munford (37) Kendall Adkisson 9, Hunter Petty 6, Jonathan Roach 5, Coty Eanes 3, Dennis McGarity 3, Chase Tarrant 3, Barker Burnham 2, Will Rich 2, Kellen Phillips 2, Tim LaRue 1, John Guyer 1