It’s been another tough week for Grundy basketball but the Jacket men got a win Monday night at home against Whitwell. That was their only win in three games and the Lady Jackets had it even tougher with three losses. The girls are now 5-16 overall and 4-3 in the district. The men are 4-12 and 1-6 in district play. Grundy hosted Notre Dame Tuesday. Friday they travel to South Pittsburg for a 6:00 start. Next Friday they play at Sequatchie County at 6:00. Get out and support Grundy County basketball this week!
Girls: Coffee Co 58 – Grundy 39
Coffee County proved to be too much for the Lady Jackets for the second time this season downing Grundy in Coalmont January 8. Coffee outscored Grundy by three, seven and nine in the first three quarters to put the game out of reach. “They’re a lot older team than we are. They’ve got more experience but that’s just something we’re going to have to play against. We had way too many turnovers. Turnovers were the difference in this game and not boxing out. It’s just a combination of a lot of different things. We had some out that hurt us too but throughout the year that’s what you come up against,” said Coach Julie Davis. Madison Burrows and Kristin Hill scored nine each to lead Grundy with Burrows hitting two threes. MiKayla Williams followed with eight with a three. Tori Sartain scored five. Madison Rogers had four. Julie Nance and Peyton Eads scored two each.
Bledsoe 52 – Grundy 36
The Lady Jackets suffered another district loss Friday in Pikeville. The Lady Warriors led by eight at the half and Grundy cut that lead by one at the end of the third. Bledsoe exploded for a 24-15 final quarter to take the win. “Our main problem was turnovers. We had over 25 turnovers in the first half. Even with those turnovers we were only down by eight. They just outplayed us in the end,” said Coach Davis. MiKayla Williams led the Lady Jackets with 13 points with four three pointers. Tori Sartain followed with nine. Madison Rogers scored six. Peyton Eads had four. Kelsey Arbuckle and Madison Burrows scored two each.
Whitwell 47 – Grundy 45
This one went to the wire with the teams battling back and forth all the way. Grundy led after the first but trailed at the half. They were up 34-32 after three. The game was tied 45-45 with seconds to go when Whitwell hit a jumper with 1.7 seconds to go to take the win. “It was a tough loss but the girls played a heck of a ball game today. It was tooth and nail the whole way. Having Tori Sartain out really hurt especially with her leadership on the floor. We had a lot of people step up and play big,” said the coach. MiKayla Williams led the way again with 19 including five threes. Kristin Hill scored nine. Madison Burrows had five with a three. Kelsey Arbuckle and Peyton Eads scored four each. Madison Rogers and Kami King had two each.
Boys: Coffee Co. 63 – Grundy 34
The Red Raiders had sighted in their shooting skills and were hitting most everything they tossed up in this one. Grundy continued to struggle offensively and the combination resulted in another one in the loss column for the Jackets. Grundy trailed 23-7 after one and 40-16 at the half before tightening things up in the second half. “The way they shot tonight was unbelievable. We played defense well. That’s what I told the guys at halftime. It really wasn’t our defense. I’ve not seen a team shoot like that, especially from beyond three point range all season. I don’t know if we’ll see anybody shoot that well again. Offensively we still just can’t make shots. We’ve got to start knocking down shots. We play defense well. We just can’t score the basketball right now,” said Coach Justin Bryant. Austyn Cooper led Grundy with 11 points including a three. Hayden Holland and Levi Miller scored six each. Terrince Bramhall scored three. Tanner Smartt, Trevor Hampton, Devan Hampton and Chase Rankin all scored two each.
Bledsoe Co. 59 – Grundy 33
Grundy traveled to Pikeville Friday and couldn’t notch the district win over the Warriors. Bledsoe won every quarter of the contest on the way to the win. Grundy struggled hitting baskets. “It was a great defensive game from our end. It was a two point game late in the second quarter and then pulled it out to a 10 point game at the end of the quarter. We couldn’t score the basketball. That’s just the fact of the matter we didn’t score the basketball,” said Bryant. Jacob Campbell led the Jackets with 16 points including two threes. Tanner Smartt scored seven. Hayden Holland had six. John David Dickerson and Chase Rankin added two each.
Grundy 55 – Whitwell 47
The Jackets trailed throughout the first half in this one but flipped the switch after halftime. Down 25-16 at the break Grundy came to life and dominated the second half with pressure defense. They also were red hot offensively as they outscored the Tigers 21-7 and 18-15 in the final two quarters. “We came out the second half and put a lot of pressure on their guards. They might have not turned the ball over but we completely got them out of their offensive flow. What I kept on telling the guys is turn our defense into our offense. That’s what we did the second half. I can’t tell you how many turnovers and points we put on the board from our defense. We totally took control of the second half and played basketball the way we’re capable of playing as a team,” said the coach. Trevor Hampton topped the Jackets with 18 points. Hayden Holland followed with 10. Austyn Cooper had nine. Terrince Bramhall tossed in eight. Levi Miller scored six. Tanner Smartt and Jacob Campbell scored two each.
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