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Claiborne County elementary and middle school junior varsity basketball teams met at Powell Valley Middle School, Dec. 9, for the 2019 basketball tournament. Springdale Elementary had the number one girls team coming in and H.Y. Livesay had the number one-seeded boys team; both had day one byes.

The opening game was Forge Ridge Lady Dragons versus Midway Lady Red Devils. These two teams began scoring early during the first period, but it was the Lady Dragons enjoying a two-point lead at 6-4 going into the second. The Lady Dragons played well with the lead and built it up to a 19-10 halftime advantage.

The Lady Dragons then extended their lead during the third, but Midway was playing better. At the end of three periods Forge Ridge led 27-14. The Lady Dragons put it away during the final period and took a 32-17 victory despite having only five players. Leading Forge Ridge in scoring was Navaeh Allen with 26. Kaydence Daniels had four and Macy England had two. Jayden Meyers led Midway with 17 and was the only Lady Red Devil to score.

Next on the floor were the boys of Springdale and Clairfield. The Owls scored first and then went into a press that gave the Eagles problems. The Owls dropped in nine points and gave up only two during the opening period.

Springdale opened it up during the second period and led at the half, 28-5. Clairfield found the deep shot during the third but still lost ground to the Owls. The score going into the last period was 30-8. The reserves came in during the fourth period and added to the total, but the Owls were just too strong on this night and won 36-10.

Leading Springdale in scoring was Colton Jones with eight, Isaiah Gable had six, Charlie Robinette and Drew Epperson had five each and Robbie Buchanan had four. Blake Gilbert, Robby Wilmoth, Xavier Nickell and Daniel Loope all had two points each. Clairfield was led by Bryson Ballard with six, Andrew Hicks had three and Lucas Hamblin had one point.

The final game of day one was a battle between the Lady Eagles of Clairfield and the Lady Eagles from H.Y. Livesay. Clairfield didn’t find the basket during the opening period, and Livesay rolled out to a 13-0 advantage. During the second period it was much of the same for both teams; however, Clairfield was able to get their first points on the board but wasn’t slowing down Livesay.

Livesay held a 29-2 lead at the half and were looking great. Clairfield came out strong during the third period and took their total out to five, but Livesay still had a big lead at 33-5. During the final period, Clairfield kept giving all they had but it wasn’t enough to cut into the large Livesay lead.

The Lady Eagles of Livesay took the victory by the final score of 39-8. Livesay was led by Jaylee Hayes with 19, Jayla Bailey had 10, Alyssa Smith had six, Brinkley Hollin had two, Abby Peters had two and Jenna Middleton had one point. Aailiah Ballard led Clairfield with five, Katelin Kemplen had two and Madison Hicks had one point.