Karen Medina of Westwood basketball

The Westwood Lady Rockets and Rockets got a big conference sweep on Thursday night at Forrest in middle school basketball action.  A 14 point first period helped Westwood race out to a 7 point halftime lead in the girl’s game.  The Lady Rockets held Forrest scoreless in the 4^th quarter to claim the 32 to 24 win.  Karen Medina hit three 3 pointers to lead all scorers with 10 points.  Ashley Starks had 8 points while Valerie Barger and Beatris Barrera each added 6 points.   With the win, Lady Rockets are now 9 and 2 on the season.

Roderic Brinkley of Westwood basketball

Tied at 24 at the half, the Rockets held Forrest scoreless in the 3rd quarter to earn a 45 to 33 win in the boys’ game.  Roderic Brinkley had a double-double to lead Westwood as he scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.  Jake Hollandsworth added 12 points and 5 assists as every 8th grader scored for the Rockets. The win improves the Rockets’ record to 6 and 5 on the year and avenged an early season loss at the hands of Forrest.

Westwood travels to Wartrace on Monday night to take on Cascade.  Tipoff for the girls game is set for 6:00 PM

CCMS Lady Raider Julia Duncan

The Lady Raider basketball team got 26 points from Julia Duncan to demolish White County 46 to 18 in middle school basketball action on Thursday night. Coffee Middle used a 20 point 3rd quarter to coast to their 4th straight win to start the season. Bella Vinson added 8 points including a pair of 3 pointers.

Brandon Jernigan of CCMS basketball

A furious 3rd quarter rally fell short in the boys’ game as the Red Raiders dropped a 44 to 30 decision to the Warriors. Brandon Jernigan led the Red Raiders in scoring with 13 points, 10 of those coming in the 2nd half. Jaxon Vaughn added 5 points for Coffee County.
The Coffee County Middle School basketball teams will be at home on Monday night as they take on East Tullahoma. Tipoff for the girls’ game is set for 6 PM.

Pete Weber’s Post Game Report

Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber

Shea Weber scored his second goal in as many games, but the Nashville Predators fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs by a 2-1 final in a shootout on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. The Preds move to 9-3-3 on the season with 21 points.

After the Preds and Ottawa Senators exchanged 12 goals in a Nashville win on Tuesday, the Predators and Maple Leafs were scoreless through two periods; a completely different change in style from 48 hours earlier. There was no extra notch in the win column at the end of the night for the Preds, but an important point was still earned.

“I thought both teams played well; it was a chip-and-chase game and [Toronto] earned that win,” defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “We worked hard. We wanted to come in here with a workman-like attitude, and I thought we did that, but it was a little too late.”

After scoring his 150th career goal and his 400th career point on Tuesday, Weber tallied again in career game No. 700. Weber’s goal came on the power play at 2:40 of the third period, courtesy of a James Neal feed from right to left across the slot. Weber deposited the puck past a sprawling James Reimer for a 1-0 Nashville lead.

Just minutes later, however, Tyler Bozak finished off a 2-on-1 for Toronto and put the puck past Pekka Rinne to get the Leafs on the board for a 1-1 score, a mark that remained as the two clubs went to overtime.

Nashville was unable to capitalize on a power-play opportunity to begin the extra frame, and a five-round shootout was finally decided when Peter Holland beat Rinne to seal the victory for the Leafs.

“I didn’t think it was our best effort,” forward Mike Fisher said. “I think we can play better in a lot of different areas. It wasn’t like we were bad; we get that goal in the third and we got to try to shut them down, but it was one of those games.”

The Predators say they knew coming in there wasn’t going to be much room to be had with the way Toronto plays, and the first period shot summary – six for the Leafs, four for the Preds – strengthened that point.

“I don’t think we played poorly tonight, it just doesn’t come off the same way with the amount of attacks at the net and pucks that can get to the net,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’ve played in these games before… there was not a lot of room out there.”

“We expected that kind of game and we just tried to be patient,” Fisher said. “We didn’t expect the same thing as the other night for sure, and we tried not to get frustrated. I’m sure they’re kind of in the same boat, and we just couldn’t find a way to win.”

The Predators will host Winnipeg on Saturday night at the Bridgestone Arena.  Face off is set for 6 PM and you can hear the action hear on Thunder Radio.

How can you DRIVE Westwood Middle School into new lockers? Stop by the Lincoln Drive my School Fundraiser this Saturday, any time between 10AM-4PM and test drive a brand new Lincoln! It is taking place in the parking lot of Metro Industrial Services, 2081 Hillsboro Blvd. in Manchester. Westwood Middle School gets $20 for each test drive! Nashville Predators GNASH will be making an appearance and the Chik-fil-a Cow will be handing out certificates for FREE chicken sandwiches!! Westwood Middle School needs new lockers, please help!

The Motlow Bucks gave their best effort to overcome the absence of two of their top players Wednesday night, but visiting Wallace St. had too much depth as they wore down and beat the Bucks 76-70 in front of a large, loud crowd at Copperweld Arena.

Motlow (5-2, 2-0) saw its five-game winning streak come to an end against one of the best non-conference teams they will play all season. The Bucks return to Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) play when they join the Lady Bucks and travel to Gallatin on Saturday, Nov. 14, for a pair of contests against Volunteer St. Tipoff for the men’s game is approximately 4 p.m.

Guards Stephaun Adams and Ryan Jones were both unavailable to the Bucks for various reasons, forcing head Coach J.T. Burton to alter his rotation. The visiting Lions took advantage by double and sometimes triple-teaming Motlow’s Jaylen Barford, who still scored 34 points. It was the fourth consecutive game that Barford, who was named the national player of the week for the second straight week, has scored at least 30 points.

The Bucks started quickly, jumping out to a 15-5 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the first half. Darius Joell hit an early three-pointer and inside players Reid Pierce, Jared Pearson and JaQualis Matlock each had early buckets for the Bucks. However, the Lions withstood the early deficit and clawed their way back by going on an 11-0 run to take their first lead with 6:30 remaining in the half, which ended with Wallace St. leading 33-27.

Barford was spectacular in the final 20 minutes, scoring 24 of his points. His teammates combined for only 19 points in the second half though, as the visitors stretched their lead at one time to 13. The Bucks never got closer than four points after intermission.

Barford added seven rebounds, three assists and a steal to his 34 points. Joell scored 13 and had a pair of steals, rebounds and assists; and Pearson had nine points, including 7-12 from the free-throw line, and added seven rebounds. Pierce scored six and also had a team-high 10 rebounds, while Axel Magnuson had four points and two assists. Matlock didn’t scored after his early bucket but added six rebounds. Anton Cowherd and Jade Patrick each scored one point, with Patrick adding five rebounds and three steals.

Free-throw shooting was costly for Motlow as the Bucks connected on only 26-40 attempts. Motlow shot 42 percent from the field and pulled down 39 rebounds.

Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at MotlowSports.com for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics at Facebook/MotlowSports and Twitter@MotlowSports.

Freshmen Makayla Liles and Sydney Floyd combined for 14 fourth-quarter points to help the Motlow Lady Bucks come back from a five-point halftime deficit and beat visiting nationally-ranked Wallace St. 60-54 Wednesday night at Copperweld Arena.

The Lady Bucks (2-2, 1-1) will continue outside conference play when they travel to Gadsden, Ala., to face Gadsden St. on Friday, Nov. 13. The Motlow women will then join the Motlow Bucks for a pair of Tennessee Community College Athletic Association (TCCAA) contests against Volunteer St. on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Gallatin.

The significance of the victory was not lost on second-year head coach Dominic Tharpe. “Wednesday night was a signature win for this program, beating the No. 24 team in the country,” he said. “The environment inside Nisbett Center with a packed crowd contributed greatly to the intensity and energy that our team played with. I was pleased with how we shared the ball on offense and with our effort on the defensive side.”

Motlow started strong Wednesday night, jumping out to a 16-10 first quarter lead as Liles had five early points and Jasmine Rhodes hit a three-pointer. MeKhaela Witherspoon had four points in the opening 10 minutes and pulled down a pair of big rebounds.

With the Lady Bucks leading 20-13, the visiting Lady Lions went on an 18-6 run to close the second quarter and went into the locker room at halftime leading 31-26. Floyd kept Motlow close with five second-quarter points, including her only three-pointer.

Aja Robertson and Rhodes combined for eight third-quarter points as Motlow, after trailing 36-28 with 6:40 to play in the quarter, went on a 14-4 run to lead 42-40 heading into the final 10 minutes, when Liles and Floyd took over.

After the two teams were tied 50-50 with 3:50 remaining on the game clock, the Lady Bucks stormed to a 59-50 advantage before holding off the visitors and securing one of the program’s most significant wins over the past five seasons.

Liles added five rebounds to her 17 points, while Floyd pulled down six boards and had two steals to go along with 11 points. Taylor Hayes scored seven, with four rebounds and three assists. Rhodes also had seven points, while Ajaycia Cotton scored five points with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Robertson had six rebounds and scored four points, and Shakala Griffin scored three with five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots. All stats are unofficial.

Visit the official website of Motlow Athletics at for rosters, schedules, stats and more. Interact with Motlow Athletics at <Facebook/MotlowSports> and <Twitter@MotlowSports>.