The deep and talented Milan Wildcats proved to be a difficult quarterfinal opponent for the Atlanta Hornets on Monday night, jumping on AHS for 29 of the first 31 points scored, in a 65-28 victory that sends Andrea Dabney’s squad into the semifinals, to face the LaPlata Bulldogs.
The Wildcats led 29-2 after one quarter, 41-8 at halftime, and had the ‘running clock’ cruising by the fourth quarter, up 61-17 going into the final eight minutes.
The Wildcats, now 2-0 on the season, had another balanced scoring night, with Marcus Diaz leading the way with 11 while Dom Dabney and Kaden Watkins both added 10 points to the winning effort.
Milan advances to a Wednesday night (5:20 PM) semifinal with LaPlata, a 72-21 quarterfinal winner over the Brashear Tigers.
Atlanta drops to a consolation semifinal with Brashear, scheduled for 8 o’clock on Wednesday night.
The quarterfinal contest for the Milan girls did not nearly as well as the boys, as the Lady ‘Cats suffered their first loss of the season, 43-39 against Brashear. Both teams struggled from the free throw line in the low-scoring affair, with Milan struggling to find a consistent, go-to scorer in the contest, as Courtney McCollum led the Lady ‘Cats with eight points. Averi Acton was the best player on the floor throughout the contest, leading Brashear with 22 points, while Hannah Grissom had a key rebound and stick-back in the game’s final minute, part of a 12 point effort for the Lady Tigers.
Milan, now 1-1 on the season, drops into a consolation semifinal with Novinger on Wednesday afternoon at 4 o’clock. Milan beat Novinger on Monday, November 20th in the season opener for the Lady ‘Cats. Novinger lost to rival Green City in a Monday night quarterfinal 67-28, moving the Lady Gophers into a semifinal test with Brashear, Wednesday night at 6:40.
Quarterfinal action continues Tuesday night from Novinger High School, with #1 seeds Scotland County playing Newtown-Harris in back-to-back games, with the girls game at 4:00 followed by a 5:20 boys encounter. At 6:40, the #4 seeded Atlanta girls play LaPlata, with the Novinger Wildcats and Green City Gophers renewing their long-standing boys rivalry at 8 o’clock tonight.
