Bears Shoot 72 Percent

BY WAYNE PHILLIPS
SPORTS EDITOR

Mt. Juliet moved to the title game with a 64-49 win over Cosby (Va.), shooting a hot 72 percent from the floor in the game. It was not a tournament record (that would be 79 percent by South Greene in 1992), but it was likely the second best shooting performance in the 21-year history of the tournament.

The Bears got a standout effort from sophomore Caya Williams, who dumped in 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting, and hauled in nine boards. Britt Bell chipped in with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Andrea Bertrand led Cosby with 18 points while Kelsy Conyers scored 12. Cosby's two top scorers, Jazmin Pitts and Becca Wann, finished with 8and 7 points respectively. Wann started the game with a nose guard on her face after sustaining what was thought to be a broken nose the night before, but ditched the guard after a quarter.

Helen Mitchner, Mt. Juliet's point guard, took a nasty spill and sustained a knot the size of a golf ball on her forehead, but returned to the game after being checked out by coaches and trainers.

The Bears led 14-9 after one quarter and 31-18 at intermission. Cosby could not catch up because Mt. Juliet hit 23-of-32 field goals in the game.

The Bears were last in the title game in 2006 when they lost to Wilson Central for the championship.

Mt. Juliet (64): Brown 1-1 0-0 3, Gurchiek 0-0 2-2 2, Britt Bell 9-134-7 22, Mitchner 1-1 0-0 3, Caya Williams 10-14 5-6 26, Rhaney 0-0 0-00, Peterson 1-1 0-0 3, Baugher 1-2 2-2 5. TOTALS: 23-32 13-17 64.

Cosby (49): Nichols 1-3 0-1 2, Kelsey Conyers 4-9 1-2 12, Wann 3-15 0-17, Andrea Bertrand 8-21 1-3 18, Pitts 4-8 0-1 8, Vaughan 1-5 0-0 2.TOTALS: 21-61 2-8 49.

3-Point Goals: MJ-5 (Brown, Mitchner, Williams, Peterson, Baugher). Cosby-5 (Conyers 3, Wann, Bertrand).

Score by quarters:
Mt. Juliet    14    17    16    17--64
Cosby    9    9    11    20--49