Cass, Cartersville girls advance to face one another at Adairsville tourney Saturday

The Cartersville and Cass girls basketball teams will square off Saturday at 4 p.m. in the semifinals of the Ace Hardware Christmas Clash at Adairsville High School. Cartersville beat North Cobb Christian Friday morning 61-44 to advance, while Cass topped LaFayette 66-52 in their first round game Friday afternoon. In other early tournament action Friday, the Cartersville boys lost to Walker at the Adairsville tournament 74-71, the Cass boys fell to Monsignor Farrell (NY) at the KSA Tournament in Orlando, and the Excel Christian Academy boys lost at Pickens County.

CARTERSVILLE GIRLS 61, NORTH COBB CHRISTIAN 44

The Lady Canes took a 21-4 lead after just one quarter and held on to defeat North Cobb Christian Friday morning at Adairsville, 61-44.

Cartersville led 39-18 at the intermission and was up 49-32 heading into the final period.

Cio Seigler led the Hurricanes with 18 points on six three-pointers and took a pair of charges on defense. She was followed by nine teammates in the scoring column. Naijah Evans scored eight; Jamiya Moore and Lehla Thomas seven each; Kiera Milline (photo by Randy Parker, The Daily Tribune News) scored six; Jada Cunningham and Alexia Henderson four each; Campbell Rogers three; Jakayah Draughn and Ariana Cochran (seven rebounds, four assists) added two points apiece. Brooke Moore and Mary Claire Norman led North Cobb Christian with 22 and 20 points, respectively. The loss dropped the Eagles to 9-3 on the season. North Cobb Christian will play Lafayette Saturday at 10 a.m. Cartersville (6-4) advances to play Cass at 4 p.m. in the tournament semifinals.

CASS GIRLS 66, LAFAYETTE 52

Claire Davis scored 27 points and Londaisha Smith added 16 as the Lady Colonels beat LaFayette Friday afternoon 66-52 in first round action at the Ace Hardware Christmas Clash at Adairsville High School. Cass held a 15-9 lead after the first eight minutes and was ahead 33-22 at halftime. The Lady Colonels led 49-36 after three quarters and held on for a 14-point victory.

Justice Bennett (photo by Randy Parker, The Daily Tribune News) posted seven points for Cass. Taryn Callahan had six. Keara McDaniel scored four points while Ariana Hames and Amaya Ford added three points each. Latoyah Barber led LaFayette with 21 points. She was followed by Mikeria Johnson with 13 and Marquella Howell with 11 points for the Lady Ramblers. LaFayette (7-6) will play North Cobb Christian in a consolation game Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

Cass (10-4) advances to the tournament semifinals at 4 p.m. where they will play Cartersville.

WALKER 74, CARTERSVILLE BOYS 71

The Class A-Private third-ranked Walker Wolverines held off a second half surge by the Cartersville boys for a three-point win in first round action at the Adairsville Christmas Clash.

Walker led 24-12 after one quarter, 42-33 at halftime, and 62-52 after three quarters before Cartersville challenged late.

The Wolverines (11-1) had four players in double figures with Chris Newell leading the way with 21 points. Chandler Baker followed with 20, Burke Chebuhar scored 15, and Omar Cooper tallied 12 points.

Kolbe Benham led the Canes with 24 points, including 16 in the first half. Micah Tart had 12 points. Marquail Coaxum finished with 11 and Kyler Johnson scored all ten of his points in the second half. Kam Callahan posted eight points. Brynen Wilkens scored five. Robert Novak and Jynerieus Stanley added two points apiece.

With their win, Walker advances to play Cornerstone Prep in the semifinals Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

Cartersville (2-4) will face Trion Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in a consolation game.

MONSIGNOR FARRELL (NY) 61, CASS BOYS 44 The Cass boys struggled with 25 turnovers and were only three-of-14 from behind the arc Friday as they suffered an opening round loss at the KSA Holiday Tournament in Orlando Florida. The Colonels fell to Monsignor Farrell of Staten Island New York 61-44. Cass led 16-14 after one quarter Friday, but fell behind 27-22 by the intermission and trailed 43-35 after three quarters. Justin Zieris scored 15 points and Jack Fitzgibbons added 13 in the Lions victory. Zaylan Chaney led Cass with 10 points. Jaquan Heard followed with nine. Cass (9-5) will play a consolation game Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. against Conrad Academy (Fla.) and will play a third game Monday at 10 a.m. against an opponent to be determined. PICKENS 68, EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY BOYS 53 The Excel Christian Academy boys lost at Pickens Friday afternoon 68-53 participating in the Pickens Christmas Bash in Jasper. The host Dragons led 20-11 after one quarter, 33-24 at halftime, and 55-39 after three quarters on their way to a 15-point win. Pickens was led by 18 points from Noah Sutton; 17 by Tucker Lowe; and 14 by Owen Moss. Rashard Doyle, Rayshawn Womack, and Kalil Holley finished with double-figure scoring for the Eagles with 15, 14, and 11 points, respectively. Excel Christian (2-8) will play Lassiter Saturday at Pickens at 3:30 p.m.

OTHER BOYS GAMES AT THE ADAIRSVILLE TOURNAMENT CORNERSTONE PREP 75, TRION 60 Joshua Greene scored 23 of his game-high 30 points in the first half as the Cougars beat Trion 75-60. Aamir Broadwater added 10 points for Cornerstone Prep (15-2). Rob Brown and Jaden Hardy posted 13 points each for the Bulldogs (4-6) in their loss.

Trion plays Cartersville Saturday in a consolation game at 11:30 a.m. Cornerstone will play Walker in the semifinals at 4 p.m.

LAFAYETTE 88, MADISON COUNTY (AL) 62 Aidan Hadaway scored 29 points, DeCameron Porter totaled 17, and Asa Deal finished with 14 points as the LaFayette Ramblers remained undefeated on the season and cruised past Madison County in the first round of the Adairsville Christmas Tournament, 88-62. Trevor Harris scored 21 points for Madison County (2-12). Madison County will play a consolation game Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against Friday night’s Woodland/Adairsville loser. LaFayette will play the Woodland/Adairsville winner in Saturday night’s semifinal game at 8:30 p.m. Editor’s Note: The Woodland and Adairsville results will be published in a separate report.