B

NEWPORT – Morristown West freshman Jhaniya Mitchell has shown flashes at times this season, but Tuesday night against Cocke County may have been her coming out party.

Taking on the Lady Red, Mitchell threw in 25 points as West showed composure late to hold off Cocke County for a 66-52 victory.

With the win, West moved to 10-5 on the season and have won eight of their last nine games. Cocke County fell to 9-7.

“I thought Jhaniya played a heck of a game,” Morristown West coach Johnny Galyon said. “She’s coming along big time. We’ve been stressing to her that she can’t be soft and tonight she didn’t fade back on a layup once. And she was getting hit. I was proud of her effort.”

Following a close first half, West seemed to have the game in hand leading by 10 heading to the fourth quarter. The lead quickly grew to 13, but Cocke County rallied and made it a five-point game with five minutes to go.

However following a timeout, West responded as they scored 17 points in the last five minutes to secure the win.

“They’ve got a good team,” Galyon said about Cocke County. “I didn’t think our guard play was up to normal. Our post did what they needed to do to solidify us on the inside a little bit. And we played the way we normally play towards the end to stretch the lead.”

Along with Mitchell, Delaney Weddington had 16 points. Weddington scored nine of her points during that fourth quarter run to secure the victory.

Other scorers in the game for West were Aubrie Messer with eight, Kaylee Dyke with seven, Mia Dinkins with six and Kalyssa Dinkins with four.

For Cocke County, Layni Duncan had 15 points while Adisen McNealy and Blake Clevenger each had nine. Other scorers for the Lady Red were Destiny Reese with six, Halle Kitchen with four, Shakyra Reed with four and Kirsten Moore with three.

It was all Mitchell in the first quarter for West as she scored seven of their 12 points to give them a 12-10 lead after one. West got up 7-2 to start, but Cocke County played back into it and a Reese basket with five seconds to go cut it to two.

In the second, West upped their lead to six at 18-12, but Cocke County answered with a 7-0 run to take a 19-18 lead. Dyke stopped the run for West with a three, but Moore answered with a three of her own to give the Lady Red the lead back.

The two teams traded the lead in the final three minutes of the half before a basket by Weddington made it 26-25 in favor of West at the break.

The third quarter started strong for Cocke County as they led 29-28 early. But that was the final time they would lead in the game as West went on a 6-0 run to gain control. Following a Cocke County basket, West rallied off 10 of the final 12 points in the quarter to lead 43-33. Messer and Mitchell each had six points in the quarter.

Mia Dinkins opened the fourth up for West with a three to stretch the lead to 13 before Cocke County slowly began cutting into the lead. With 5:18 to go, the West lead was down to 49-44 after a Duncan three and Galyon called a timeout.

Coming out of the timeout, West was a different team as Weddington and Mitchell quickly scored. One more three by Cocke County cut the lead back down to six, but Weddington answered with a 3-point play and Mitchell scored five straight. A 3-pointer by Dyke with 1:23 to go made it a 64-47 game and sealed the deal for the Lady Trojans.

West will be back in action on Friday as they travel to take on cross-town rival Morristown East. Tip is set for 6 p.m.

Cocke County returns to action on Friday as they host Robbinsville (NC). Tip is set for 6:30 p.m.

Washburn 73, Clinch 15

Saylor Clay and Braelyn Coffey combined for 46 points on Tuesday evening as Washburn easily dispatched Clinch for the second time this season.

With the win, Washburn improved to 11-7 on the season.

Clay was the leading scorer in the game with 24 points while Coffey added 22. Coffey is now averaging 17 points a game while Clay is just under 14 points.

Along with those two, Hannah Williams added nine points while Kylie Nicely had seven. Other scorers for Washburn were Callie Nicley with four, Megan Beeler with three, Rylie Nicely with two and Abigail Epperson with two.

It was all Washburn early as they led 18-1 after the first quarter. Clay had seven points while Coffey added eight.

In the second, Washburn scored 20 more and held Clinch to seven as they led 38-8. Coffey added five more in the quarter while Clay hit two 3-pointers.

The third quarter was the largest offensive output for Washburn in the game with 21 points to lead 59-15. Clay had 11 points. In the fourth, Washburn scored 14 more points and held Clinch scoreless.

Washburn will be back in action on Thursday as they host Berean Christian.

Jeff County 70,Knox Central 50