Cannon Co. splits with Cascade

TONY STINNETT/ Courier Sports Editor

BELL BUCKLE - Cannon County settled for a split at Cascade in non-district action Monday (Jan. 14).

The No. 4- ranked Lionettes escaped with a 58-52 triumph to notch their 19th win of the season. The Lions suffered a 53-43 setback

Abbey Sissom led all scorers with 25 points to pace the Lionettes. Abby Jakes added 14 and Madison Walkup tallied 12.

The Lionettes were playing without standout forward Rebekah Faulkner who suffered an ankle injury following the Smith County game (Jan. 11).

Initial reports were that Faulkner suffered a broken ankle and would miss the remainder of the season.

Cannon County started strong and jumped out to a 42-26 lead at halftime. The Lionettes led 23-9 after the first quarter and didn’t  let up on their way to a 42-point first half. They were 13-of-29 from the field in the opening half.

Sissom was 7-of-12 from the field in the first half, including knocking down the first four 3-pointers she attempted.

The Lionettes were not as sharp from the field in the second half and Cascade started mounting a rally.

They closed to within four in the final three minutes but could get no closer. Sissom and Walkup combined for five free throws in the final 1:26 to seal the win.

The Lions were not as fortunate.

An inability to score consistently in the second half keyed the setback as the Lions came out with a strong defensive effort in the first half.

The game was tied 19-19 at intermission.

Cascade put together a 14-7 run in the third quarter and stretched the lead to 33-26 and the Lions were never able to make a strong run late.

Tommy Mitchell led the Lions with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. He also collected eight rebounds.

Alex Davenport had a strong all-around effort with eight points and nine rebounds. Davenport connected on both of his 3-point attempts.

Ethan Bryson finished with six points and five rebounds. Playmakers Cory Henley and Jarrett Melton were held to just three points each.