The Cannon County Lionettes picked no better time to get over the proverbial hump of beating a solid team than they did Saturday night as the number 5th seeded team knocked off the number 1 seed Livingston Lady Wildcats 50-49 before a packed house at Cookeville High School. The Lionettes were swept in the regular season by the top four finishers in the district came out aggressive in the 1st half and started the game with a 9-0 lead. Livingston quickly crawled back into it and by half trailed 21-16. Livingston kept chipping away and took the lead for the first time in the game in the third. However the Lionettes were able to stay right with them as it went right down to the final shot. Livingston missed a 5 footer with time running out and the Lionettes earned their way into the championship game with their 21st win of the year. Cannon will now play Central Magnet for the championship at Cookeville High School weather permitting on Tuesday The Cannon County Lions struggled from the field of play in their semifinal matchup against the Smith County Owls. It had been a week since they last played basketball and they faced an Owl team which came off an emotional upset of Upperman Friday night to end their season. Smith County almost got their second upset of the tournament as they led most of the way until the final few minutes when Cannon made a run and the Owls committed 7 turnovers during that stretch. Cannon won the close contest 45-43. Josh Ruehlan the regular season District 8-AA MVP finished with 12 points but only scored two in the second half. Marshall McReynolds was the key in the win as he socred all 9 of his points in the fourth period. The Lions move to 25-6 overall and have won their 12th straight. Cannon will now play Livingston Academy for the District 8-AA tournament championship Wednesday night at Cookeville High School weather permitting.
Both Lions and Lionettes will also now host the first round games of the Region Tournament against one of the lower seeds of Region 7-AA
