CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville High Lady Wildcats hosted the Rossview Hawks at a packed William Workman Gymnasium for a rivalry matchup between two of the top girls’ basketball teams in the city. In the end, Clarksville High dominated defensively and pulled away with a 46-18 win, led by 19 points from Malon Smith.
The Wildcats were aggressive from the opening tip, shutting down the Hawks offense. They held the normally high-flying offense to only nine points in the first half and were able to hit enough shots on the offensive end to build a 15-point lead at the break. Wildcats head coach Brian Rush knew that a fast start would be a big factor in this rivalry game.
“Our rivalry with Rossview is obviously big, and we knew both teams were going to come to play,” Rush said. “Both teams came out and played really good defense, but we were able to hold them to one shot offensively, which was a big emphasis this week due to their size.”
Rossview battled throughout, and played well on the defensive end, but could not get shots to fall consistently as they fell 46-18. Hawks head coach Clay Head know this was a huge loss but recognizes that there is still a lot of season left.
“They came out ready and punched us in the mouth,” said Head. “It was one game, it was a bad game, and from the coaches to the players, we’re embarrassed. The message is we have to be more prepared next time.”
As for Clarksville High, they stay undefeated at a perfect 15-0 mark and look to continue their hot streak throughout the rest of the season.
“We talked to the girls in the locker room about continually getting better,” said Rush. It’s January, and games don’t really matter until you get to February. We’re trying to build a team that’s going to be ready for the postseason.”