PREP BASKETBALL: Lee upsets Virginia High girls behind Cluesman

 For the past year, Lee senior Makenzie Cluesman has tried to block out Valentine’s Day of 2011.

“That’s when I had ACL surgery on my knee,” Cluesman said. “I got injured in our first district game at Lebanon, and had a six-month rehab process after the surgery. That was not fun at all.”

Cluesman is now healthy, productive and hungry. On Tuesday, she supplied 20 points, 10 rebounds and steady defense as the Generals upset Clinch Mountain District leader Virginia High 40-35.

After VHS (5-1, 13-3) took a 7-6 first-quarter lead, Lee took over the game with defense and hustle.

Basically, the Generals (2-4, 11-7) dared VHS to shoot from the perimeter while focusing in on rebounding machine Chelsea Delapp.

“We had open shots all night long, we just didn’t hit any,” VHS coach Mike Goforth said. “That’s pretty much what it came down to.”

VHS forced a 25-25 tie with 6:55 left in the game as senior Hannah Smith hit a 3-pointer. With multiple defenders surrounding Delapp every time she touched the ball, the Generals controlled the final minutes.

“Chelsea is a phenomenal player,” Lee coach Stephanie Ward said. “She had 19 points and 19 rebounds in our game at Lee while we only had 20 rebounds as team. We wanted to lock her down.”

Delapp tied her season-low of five points Tuesday, as junior forward Morgan Miles (15 rebounds), junior Kelsey Skaggs and sophomore Courtney Tabor took turns providing the pressure.

“We had a plan on how to play [Virginia High], and our girls did a great job with fundamental defense and not allowing inside buckets or layups,” Ward said

Smith led VHS with nine points while junior Morgan Whittemore added seven points and 13 rebounds.

Goforth hopes his Bearcats learned a valuable lesson. Entering Tuesday, the only losses for VHS were against Tennessee High and Unaka.

“I think we got too comfortable coming in,” Goforth said. “Maybe this is what we needed.”

Cluesman said the Generals needed the confidence jolt.

“This was a huge win,” Cluesman said. “We’ve been confident in every game. It just came down to finishing.”

BOYS

Virginia High 67, Lee 51

Six-foot-two junior wing Nick Howard (22 points) and 6-foot-2 senior post Devon Clayton (24 points) kept the Lee defenders guessing as the Bearcats cruised to the win.

Lee opened a 6-2 lead in a slow paced first quarter. After Adam Pendleton scored the first 11 points for the Generals on slashing drives, Howard began to heat up with creative drives and deadeye jumpers.

“I’m a streak shooter. I started feeling it in the second quarter, and it just carried over,” Howard said.

Carving out space with his powerful body and scoring on innovative moves, Clayton controlled the second half.

“Devon and I have a good two-man game,” Howard said. “When defenders collapse on him, he just kicks it back out to me. We like to mix it up.”

As usual, 5-foot-7 sophomore point guard Derrick Lee served as the flashy mix-master.

“Derrick doesn’t show up in a lot of stats and he doesn’t care if he scores, but he’s the one that makes our offense go,” VHS coach Wayne Rasnick said. “It’s hard to teach that type of unselfish approach.”

The Bearcats (4-2, 14-4) were coming off a 64-54 loss to Lebanon that put a major dent in their chances for a CMD title.

“We did some things that we shouldn’t have done defensively in that game, and we’ve been working real hard to correct those mistakes,” Rasnick said. “I think our kids will be fine. “

For Howard, the loss to Lebanon added to the motivation for Tuesday’s game.

“We just really wanted to come out and show what we could do,” Howard said.

The VHS coach has come to expect torrid shooting from Howard, who has reached double figures in every game except three this season.

“When Nick gets on one of those streaks. I’ve seen him just burn up the nets,” Rasnick said. “But Derrick deserves a lot of credit for getting him the ball.”

Lee (0-6, 4-13) was led by Pendleton with 19 points and Josh Lawson with 14.

agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544