Campbell, 23 & 5, outscores Karns 36-12 in second half to also clinch a home region tourney game

By Clayton Carroll

FOUNTAIN CITY, TN (WLAF) – With a spot in the district tournament championship on the line, and the opportunity to host a region tournament game for the first time in the Jason Kitts era, the Lady Cougars set their sights toward the Karns Beavers on Thursday night in the semifinals of the district 3-AAAA tournament. The Beavers soundly defeated Campbell on Henson Court at Karns 69-37 earlier in the year, but the Lady Cougars got their revenge last Friday against the Beavers 46-35 on Brown Court.

It was a back-and forth, offensive battle in the first quarter that found Karns on top of the Lady Cougars 18-15 at the end of the frame.

Karns grabbed its largest lead of the second quarter with 2:20 to go in the first half, 30-24. After the turnover-ridden first half for Campbell, the Lady Cougars trailed Karns 33-26.

Carley Kitts drained a long shot to start the third quarter, followed by a Jayden Kitts steal and transition bucket to cut the Karns lead to two. With four and a half to go in the third, Bella Lester sank two deep threes to give Campbell a 39-35 lead. All in all, Campbell outscored the Lady Beavers in the third quarter 18-6. At the end of the third, it was the Lady Cougars maintaining a 44-39 lead.

Karns and Campbell traded layups in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, keeping the Lady Cougar lead at five, 46-41. Lacey Pemberton and Saylor Hutcheson connected on back-to-back possessions with three minutes left in the game, to extend their lead to the largest it had been all night, 54-45. The Lady Cougar lead kept growing and growing, and the clock kept ticking and ticking. 

The horn sounded, and the Lady Cougars, after outscoring Karns 36-12 in the second half, clinched their spot in the district championship game and guaranteed themselves a home region tournament game by a final score of 62-45.

Bella Lester, for the second game in a row, led the Orange-and-Blue in scoring with 24 points, 19 of which came in the second half. Lacey Pemberton scored 15 points. Saylor Hutcheson pitched in 11 points. Carley Kitts tallied six points. Jayden Kitts and Preslee Chapman scored three points apiece.

Campbell, 23 & 5, heads back to Central High School to face Oak Ridge in the district 3-AAAA tournament championship game on Monday night at 7:30 pm. WLAF sends you the live coverage over the Doyle’s Tire Sports Network which consists of AM 1450 FM 100.9 radio, TV Channel 1089, YouTube, Facebook, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Twitch.

Campbell broadcasts are made possible by these outstanding corporate partners:

Alco Builders & Realty

American Cable of La Follette

Be.You.Tiful Med Spa

Byrge Screen Printing

Clayton Homes

C & C Concrete

Cantrell Law Firm

C & L Furniture

Charley’s Pizza

C & L Metal Sales

Citizens Bank

Cumberland Equipment Rentals

Attorney Jeffrey Coller

Community Trust Bank

Cumberland Gap

Local realtor Gage Dople

Doyle’s Tire Shop

Exterior Home Solutions

Hammer’s

Hill Insurance

First National Bank

Grace Rehab

Gray Insurance Group

Greeneview Farms Market

Hearthside Bank

Jacksboro GNC

Hensley Tire & Service

Holston Gases

La Follette Nutrition

LaFollette Medical Center – Tennova Medical Group

LaFollette Mine Supply

Litho-Craft Printing & Office Supplies

LUB

Mickey & Son Lawn Care

Peoples Bank of the South

PCUD

Premier Weight Management & Esthetics

Rice Oil is your home for BP and Amoco

Robbins Guttering, Roofing & Siding

Smith Metal and Dock Sales

TCAT

(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 2/15/24 9:30PM)

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