By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
As regular-season wins go, the Union City girls’ 52-45 triumph at Gibson County Thursday night arguably ranks among the Lady Tornadoes’ best of the year.
Sh’Nyla Moss poured in 37 points – including the last 11 of the game in the final four minutes – and UC (13-12) locked up a spot in the regional tournament with its third straight victory.
The Twister girls can now do no worse than third place in the regular season District 14-AA standings and could improve to No. 2 in the league with a win vs. district champion Westview Saturday night in both teams’ regular season finale.
No matter that outcome, Union City will face Gibson County again in the 14-2A Tournament semifinals next Thursday at Martin, avoiding Monday’s play-in game. The Lady Tornadoes also automatically qualified for the Region 7 tourney, having secured a Top 4 finish in the five-team district.
The UC boys completed a sweep of Gibson County in Thursday’s nightcap, holding on for a 68-65 overtime triumph.
J.B. Thompson tallied 19 of his team-best 23 points in the second half and OT for the Twisters (10-14, 3-4), who’ll finish either third or fourth in the final district pecking order.
If Union City places third, it would avoid Tuesday’s play-in game against the Pioneers and play in next Friday’s semifinals of the 14-2A Tournament. Should the Tornadoes come in fourth, they would host GC in an elimination matchup on Tuesday.
The complete brackets will be finalized this weekend and posted on tornadotouch.net.
UC 52, GC 45 (G)
Moss headlined the Lady Tornadoes’ thrilling win over Gibson County (19-8, 4-3), scoring 14 of UC’s 16 fourth-quarter points and 23 of its 29 total markers after the intermission. The junior standout, who has now scored more than 1,500 career points, was stellar on all three levels with eight 2-pointers, four 3-pointers, and 9-of-9 free throws.
While easily the brightest of the winners’ stars, she was not the only standout, as several of her teammates made critical plays and contributions in the win.
Blair McKinnis provided a rugged inside presence on both ends, despite being undersized, while Alli McMillan had a couple of key buckets in the third period. Addy Launer returned from the injury list after an absence of more than three weeks and made a difference with a critical steal late and a second-quarter triple, while Kiyah Gordon also connected from beyond the arc and finished with five points.
The contest was close throughout, with the final score representing the night’s largest lead. Union City led 11-8 after one, trailed 24-23 at halftime, and was deadlocked at 36 with three periods in the book.
GC did not score again after taking a 45-41 lead with just over four minutes to play. Moss put the Lady Twisters on top for good with an old-fashioned 3-point play with 3:38 to go.
The Pioneers had won an earlier meeting by 12 points.
UC 68, GC 65, OT (B)
The Tornado boys saw a 15-point lead in the third quarter evaporate, but recovered to complete a season sweep of Gibson County.
UC missed nine free throws in the extra session before Brayden Marshall drained a pair of charities with 7.9 seconds remaining to provide the winning margin. The Twisters took the lead for keeps with a bucket from Thompson with 1:52 to play.
Union City looked to be cruising midway through the third stanza, up 40-25 after a Kaden Robinson trey expanded a 29-20 halftime advantage. A Jack Theobald 3-pointer keyed a run of nine unanswered points in the second segment, and Kobe Maddox made a bucket to give the Purple and Gold its first double-figure lead at 27-17 with just under three minutes left before halftime.
GC refused to go away, however, cutting the difference to 45-37 heading into the fourth quarter, and actually led in the late-going before Hollister Johnson followed up his own miss with a stickback bucket to even the count at 57 with 30 seconds showing in regulation.
Johnson gave UC a second double-digit scorer, hitting for 11 of his 13 markers after the intermission.
MIDDLE SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL
Martin 2, UC 1
The Lady Tornadoes gave a good accounting of themselves in their first-ever home match before falling in the deciding set to Martin.
Union City led in all three sets and won the second, 25-20.
The Chargers took a close Game 1, 25-23, and won Game 3 and the match, 15-10, after UC jumped out to a 5-1 lead.
Now 0-2 on their inaugural season, the Twister girls will play at home again on Tuesday against Bradford.