CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville Academy Lady Cougars picked up their first district win Monday night against the Commanders from Friendship Christian by a final score of 49-37.
The Cougars are already a shorthanded team, only rostering seven players. With one in concussion protocol, the six-man rotation battled, hustled and made some timely shots to silence their opponents.
“Coming in we knew our backs were going to be against the wall being shorthanded.” said Clarksville Academy head coach Charles Clark. “It forced some girls to play different roles than they were used to, and there’s a lot going on with finals and everything, I’m proud of the way they fought tonight.
“Defense is always something we hang our hat on. We knew if we wanted to win, we had to hold them to our magic number and we did that. I was glad to see our girls be in the right spots at the right times.”
In the end, it was the scoring efforts of guard Sicily Robinson and Forward Anna Hellums, scoring 21 and 20 respectively, that led the Cougars to a big home win on Procter Court, their first in the district.
“Anytime you get a win there’s nothing more important than that. Being a district game, with a home crowd, it’s something we can build and get some momentum going,” Clark said.
Clarksville Academy leading scorers: Sicily Robinson – 21 points; Anna Hellums – 20 points; Layla Clark – 5 points; Vicky Anderson – 2 points.
Clarksville Academy boys’ basketball
The Friendship Christian Commanders boys’ basketball team also traveled to Clarksville Academy on Monday, Dec. 11 for a district matchup. However, the Cougars ended up falling short in a scoring fest when they lost by a score of 86-78.
Clarksville Academy head coach Matt Hoppe told Clarksville Now that his team’s defense just wasn’t there against Friendship Christian.
“Anytime you give up 86 points, you’re not going to win very many games. The defensive intensity wasn’t there, and they made us pay for it. It’s not what you want to do,” Hoppe said.
The Cougars trailed 42-32 at half and things were looking grim, but some big boy buckets in the paint from Jaron Johnson, who led CA in scoring with 24 on the night, allowed the Cougars to crawl back and make it a one possession in the 3rd quarter.
“We made a couple of minor adjustments, but it was more so just effort.” said Hoppe. “We just couldn’t sustain it. Credit them, when you hit that many 3’s you give yourself a chance to win.”
The Commanders eventually pulled away in the middle of the fourth quarter, shooting unconsciously from behind the arc, and knocking down 13 triples.
Clarksville Academy scoring leaders: Jaron Johnson – 24 points; Trae Rideau – 17 points; Tahj Davie – 14 points; Cam Phillips – 12 points; Marcell Jackson – 4 points; Andrayas Scott – 3 points.