Gwen

District MVP Carroll puts on a show

Alcoa’s Maddie Stewart wheels to shoot in the win over Maryville on Monday.

By Stefan Cooper
Editor
Blount Press Row

Gwen Carroll is different.

While much of the modern game revolves around the 3-pointer and/or beating your opponent at the basket, the Alcoa forward prefers to put the ball on the floor, make a move or two and take the shot where it presents itself.

It presented itself a lot Monday night at Maryville, where the newly-crowned District 5AAA Most Valuable Player poured in a game-high 26 points in pacing the Lady Tornadoes to a 73-52 win over their rivals at James Campbell Gymnasium.

Carroll was announced the league’s player of the year in voting by district coaches on Tuesday.

“It’s a good close to the (regular) season,” Alcoa coach David Baumann said. “It’s always good to beat Maryville, but we can be better. When we play together on offense, we’re really good. When we play together on defense, we’re really good.

“So we’ve just got to continue to work on those things.”

Carroll’s mid-range mastery and 10 first-quarter points got Alcoa off to a quick start. Super frosh Harper Stinnett was soon to follow en route to a 23-point outburst, including a couple of threes. Sharpshooters Brylee Flatt and Kadie Bremer tacked on eight apiece as Alcoa opened leads of 37-20 at the half and 55-41 to start the fourth.

“In the first half, we were rebounding more, which led to getting more shots up,” Carroll said. “In the second half, we weren’t really rebounding and boxing out. Boxing out was the big thing.

“In the fourth quarter we started doing that again, shots were falling and we were playing like we were in the first half.”

The Lady Rebels made a run at the Lady Tornadoes in the third as guard Zoe Harrison — team-best 21 points — brought her squad back within a dozen. Maddie Burgin, eight, and Mandy Hall, six, helped make it a game with eight minutes to play.

On cue, Carroll, quiet in the third, went off for 10 fourth-quarter points to put it out of reach.

The Lady Tornadoes now await Thursday’s Loudon/Sequoyah winner in a district tournament semifinal on Friday at Heritage.

Tipoff on Friday is 4 p.m.

“Big three weeks coming up,” Carroll said, “super excited.”

The Lady Rebels open District 2-4A tournament play with a meeting with county-rival William Blount on Thursday at Sevier County High School.

Tipoff is 7:30.