Clarendon Hall basketball teams enjoying success
Summerton – The Clarendon Hall basketball teams are enjoying a lot of success this season as teams on all levels are posting solid efforts on a weekly basis.
The Varsity Boys are finishing their season in a very strong manner. Coach Brent Hutsell is very proud of the way his team has progressed. They are looking forward to a strong finish to the regular season this week and hoping for a long post season run.
The boys lost to Patrick Henry, 68-38, on January 20th, despite a 24-point scoring effort from senior Hunter Hodges. Hodges needs only 13 points to reach 1,000 for his career.
The Saints bounced back with a 52-49 win over Jefferson Davis on January 24th, thanks to Hodges’ 18 points and 12 more from Andrew Smoak. On January 27, Clarendon Hall beat Andrew Jackson Academy, 41-33. Cameron Cogdill was the leading scorer in that game with 13 points followed by Kevin Bennett who had 10 (both of them had three 3-pointers).
The Varsity Girls have slipped a little recently. The team has been hit with injuries and illness and faced a tough three-game road stretch recently. However, the Lady Saints are still sitting at 9-5 as the stretch drive begins this week.
On January 20th, they were victorious against Patrick Henry, 32-26. Leading offensively was Katelyn Carlisle with 10 points and Rachel Carlton with eight points (all in free throws).
Clarendon Hall lost its first conference game on January 24th, at Jefferson Davis Academy. The game came down to the final seconds and the Lady Saints just didn't have enough points to pull it out. Coach Casey Connors said that this game was very tight all the way through and he was not disappointed in the way his girls played, it just wasn't meant to be in the end.
"Not having Rachel (Carlton) or Danielle (Harris) made it tough. When you are missing your starting forward and your first sub, you are limited," said Connors. "But the girls fought hard and we didn't play badly, we just didn't quite get enough."
Katelyn Carlisle scored 13 points, Kelsey Carlisle scored 12, Kaitlyn Sawyer put up 10 in the 41-39 loss.
The Lady Saints followed with a January 27 loss to Andrew Jackson, 27-22. Clarendon Hall shot only 25 percent from the field.
"It's tough to win when three of your five starters who are usually the leading scorers, combine for five points," Said Connors.
Senior Kelsey Carlisle had a great night. She tallied 13 points and three rebounds and a steal for the night. Rachel Carlton grabbed 12 boards.
The Lady Saints finish up their regular season on Friday February 3 at home against Patrick Henry. They are hoping to get back to their winning ways and have a great region tournament. The tournament begins February 12 at Patrick Henry Academy.
