McKENZIE (March 1, 2023) - The McKenzie Lady Rebels defeated McEwen 71-50 on Monday night to move to the regional championship. The Lady Rebels defeated the Perry County Lady Vikings 75-49 to be crowned region champions.

During Monday night’s game at Crisp Arena at Bethel University, Briley Auvenshine led McKenzie with 19 points. Mikaela Reynolds chalked up 14, Savannah Davis had 13 points and Kylie Reynolds had 12 points all under the basket. The Lady Rebels held the McEwen Lady Warriors to single digits through the first half.

Wednesday night, the Lady Rebels secured their home advantage in the sectional round with their 75-49 victory over the Lady Vikings. 

The Lady Rebels took a 22-14 lead over Perry County in the first quarter. Mikaela Reynolds chalked up eight points. Kylie Reynolds drove to the basket for six points. Savannah Davis had four points with two jump shots in the paint. Katie Chessor and Auvenshine tacked on two points each.

The Lady Vikings held a 10-6 lead, but the Lady Rebels had a 10-0 scoring streak to take a 16-10 lead. The Lady Vikings trailed by eight points at the end of the first quarter. McKinnah Jackson chalked up six points. Alayna Thornton drained a 3-pointer, then drove to the basket for two points. Kaylee Byrd made a shot from behind the arc for three points. 

The Lady Vikings added 13 points to their side of the board. Byrd chalked up six points. Cianna Wilson had four points in the paint to break her 1,000 career point mark. Jackson drained a 3-pointer. The Vikings fell further behind the Lady Rebels after McKenzie added 26 points to their lead. Davis had nine points. Mikaela Reynolds had seven points, and Auvenshine had six. Kylie Reynolds tacked on four points. At halftime, the Lady Rebels dominated 48-27.

The Lady Vikings were held to nine points in the third quarter. Byrd chalked up five of the nine. Maddi Wright and Jackson had two points each. 

The Lady Rebels knocked down another 26 points in the third quarter. Davis had 11 points in the quarter. Chesser drained two 3-pointers. Auvenshine had five points and Reynolds had four points in the paint. McKenzie had a running clock to end the third quarter and headed to the final quarter with a 74-36 lead.

The Lady Vikings added 13 points to their score during the fourth quarter. Jackson led with ten points. Byrd collected the other three points behind the arc. Jackson led the Lady Vikings with 21 points, and Byrd had 17 points.

Molly French added the only point from the free throw line in the final quarter for the Lady Rebels. The Lady Rebels defeated the Lady Vikings 75-49.

Davis led the Lady Rebels to victory with 24 points. Mikaela Reynolds had 19 points, and Auvenshine had a total of 13 points.

The Lady Rebels host the sectional round at Bethel University. McKenzie will host the Huntland Lady Hornets on Saturday, March. 4. Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. at Crisp Arena. Cost is $10 cash or $8 on GOFAN.   

The winner of this game will punch their ticket to the glass house and state tournament hosted at Middle Tennessee State University starting Tuesday, March 7.