The All "A" Tournament is a unique opportunity for the small schools around the state to be both seen and heard.  Three teams from the mountains headed to Richmond with the hopes of advancing to the next round.  One accomplished that.  Experience seems to have played a big part in the three games involving mountain teams

The Sheldon Clark Lady Cardinals had never been to the All "A" state tournament before, but neither had their first round opponent, Caldwell County.  The Lady Cards used a big second quarter, outscoring the Lady Tigers 21-6, to cruise to a 55-41 win.  Carla Booth had 18 points and 8 rebounds for Sheldon Clark.  The Lady Cards now face Gallatin County in the second round.  So you are wondering, what are their chances in that game?  Pretty good actually.  They have a legitimate shot to make it to the semifinals on Thursday night.

The other 2 mountain girls teams had the unfortunate luck of being matched up with traditional powers.  June Buchanan was making their first trip to the All "A" State tournament and had to face Newport Central Catholic.  The Lady Crusaders fell behind 13-0 and could never catch up before falling 62-30.  One bright spot was the play of Maris Hovee.  Despite being the focus of attention, the Junior center still managed 11 points, 17 rebounds and 7 blocked shots.  It was good to see her play well against top competition.  The future looks quite bright for her.  All and all, the whole All "A" experience seems to have been a good one for JBS.

Middlesboro also faced a traditional power.  Actually, they faced the traditional power, two defending All "A" State champion Lexington Christian.  The Coleman sisters combined for 32 points and 18 rebounds, but the Lady Jackets couldn't match the fire power of the Lady Eagles.  Anna Martin proved why she is considered to be one of the top players in the state.  martin had 29 points in LCA's 79-62 win.

The star of the day may have been the weather though.  The ice caused a 3 hour delay to the start of the tournament.  Even with that, things went off without many problems.  But the weather has caused major changes to the games schedule.  The Boys will now have to wait until Friday to get things off and running.

Any have any thoughts on the Tourney?  I'd love to hear them.

` Jeff Archer