Riverdale girls, Siegel boys repeat as 7-AAA titleists

Rutherford County squads were celebrating Friday night, as the District 7-AAA basketball tournament concluded at Warren County?s Charlie Dalton Gym.

The second-seeded boys from Siegel captured their second-straight tournament title with a 55-40 win over Lebanon, while in the girls? championship game, Riverdale also pulled off a repeat, downing the Siegel girls 59-48.

In consolation action, White County?s girls downed Cookeville in overtime, 62-56, while Oakland?s top-seeded boys took third with a 68-60 win over Cookeville.

Girls championship:
Riverdale 59, Siegel 48
The top-seeded Lady Warriors completed their sweep of tournament competition, and ran their record to 28-3 with its win over second-seeded Siegel?s Lady Stars.

Alex Bivens, who finished with 16 points, nailed a 3-pointer just prior to the halftime horn to give Riverdale a 29-28 edge, and the Lady Warriors held momentum through the second half to capture the title.

Lauren Hudgins led the way for Riverdale with 18, while Anne Marie Lanning had 17 and Shellina Burgess had eight.

Siegel, which dropped to 25-8, got 14 points from senior Tikedra Jones, while Allison Wright had 10. Carrie Parrott scored four points, and the duo of Danielle Spurlock and Anna Grace Gerhart had five each.

Boys championship:
Siegel 55, Lebanon 40
Siegel avenged its loss to the Blue Devils in the final regular-season district game, a loss which cost the Stars the top seed for the tournament.

Lebanon, which had downed Oakland to reach the finals, trailed just 13-11 after one quarter, but went into halftime down by a 35-22 margin.

Tyler Cutter had 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second quarter for the Stars, who led 46-36 after three and held Lebanon scoreless for much of the fourth. Darius Roper had 15 points, while Keith Ramsey added a dozen.

Britton Winfree led Lebanon with 14.

Girls consolation:
White Co. 62, Cookeville 56, OT
A 22-point fourth quarter by the Lady Cavaliers helped them force an extra period against White County, after regulation play ended with the two teams tied at 50-50.

But Sparta sealed the win with a scoring surge at the beginning of the overtime period, and nailed down third place at the free-throw line in the game?s closing minutes.

Joni Simpson had 18 points to led the Warriorettes, while Molly McFadden had 17 and Brooke Yates scored 11.

Erin Helton?s 17 led Cookeville, while Andrea Copeland scored 15.

Boys consolation:
Oakland 68, Cookeville 60
The Cavaliers attempted a comeback in the game?s final quarter, after finding themselves down 50-30 with just under seven minutes to play.

But Oakland, which saw four players score in double figures, maintained at least a five-point lead, despite a late scoring surge from Cookeville?s Zack Hennigan.

Hennigan finished with 25 points, including five 3-pointers, while Matt Hill had 15 and Taylor Stearman scored 10. Oakland got 14 points from Darian Martin, 12 each from DeAndre Maupins and district MVP Chaisson Allen, and 10 more from Jaffarious Wade.

District 7?s top four teams advance to region tournament play next week. The champions will host first-round matchups, with the semifinals and finals to be played at Franklin County.

All-Tournament
All-tournament teams from the District 7-AAA championships, as selected Friday night:
Girls
Erin Helton, Cookeville
Andrea Copeland, Cookeville
Joni Simpson, White Co.
Shauna Haley, White Co.
Morgan Faulkner, Siegel
Allison Wright, Siegel
Danielle Spurlock, Siegel
Anne Marie Lanning, Riverdale
Alex Bivens, Riverdale
Lauren Hudgins, Riverdale
—
Boys
Zack Hennigan, Cookeville
Matt Hill, Riverdale
Jaffarious Wade, Oakland
Chaisson Allen, Oakland
John Presley, Lebanon
Britton Winfree, Lebanon
Tyler Cutter, Siegel
Lucas Jones, Siegel
Darius Roper, Siegel
Keith Ramsey, Siegel