Girls AAU team completes incredible 6-year run

The Campbell County Lady Cougars 14-under/9th grade division AAU Basketball Team enjoyed a very successful 20-7 season this year, which included winning five area East Tennessee AAU Tournament championships and finishing as runner-up in two other AAU Tournaments.

Lady Cougars 14-under AAU Team. From left to right: (front row) — Whitney Williamson, Dara Roberts, Olivia Brown, Chelsey Finkenbine; (back row) — Megan Caudill, Jamie Mynatt, Courtney Charles, Amber Guy.

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The Lady Cougars AAU organization, which has been based in Jacksboro since 2006 and coached by Randy Brown, has enjoyed an impressive six-year record of 137 victories against only 33 defeats while winning 28 area AAU tournaments and finishing as runner-up in 13 others.

With 41 AAU tournament championship game appearances, one might be hard-pressed to find a team that can match the success of the Lady Cougars.

In January 2006, the club was formed under the name of Jacksboro Lady Eagles, which was also the club name during the 2007 and 2009 seasons. The name Campbell County Lady Cougars was used during the 2008, 2010 and 2011 seasons.

In January 2006, the Lady Eagles won their first-ever AAU tournament, taking three of four games in the Caryville Volunteer Classic, including a 15-12 victory over the LaFollette All-Star boys in the championship game of the 9-and-under age bracket. That season, the Lady Eagles won the Jacksboro Co-ed League and post-season tournament for girls and boys ages 9-10 on their way to a 12-1 AAU record in their first season.

In 2007, the Lady Eagles went 19-6, winning four AAU tournaments and finishing as runner-up in two 11-under tournaments while playing in the 10-and-under girls division. The season’s highlights included winning the East Tennessee Shoot-out AAU Tournament by defeating the Livingston Lady Tornadoes from Overton County, 40-17, in a game played at Jacksboro Middle School and winning the LaFollette Spring Hoopfest AAU Tournament with wins over two all boys teams from Jellico, 34-32; and Frakes, Ky; 37-24.

In 2008, Campbell County posted an impressive 21-4 record, won six AAU tournaments and finished as runner-up in two 12-and-under AAU tournaments while playing in the 11-and-under age division.

The season’s highlight was winning as fifth and sixth graders at the Powell Mid-Spring Classic in Knoxville’s AAU Girls Tournament with a 33-31 upset over a 12-and-under Tennessee Lady Heat team of all seventh graders from Alcoa.

The 2009 Jacksboro Lady Eagles, playing in the 12-and-under bracket, had a stellar 28-6 record, including four AAU tournament titles and five runner-up finishes. Jamie Mynatt set the single season club scoring mark with 388 points in 34 games. In 2010, Campbell County set a club record in wins with a 37-9 record, winning six area East Tennessee AAU tournament championships and finishing as runner-up in two other AAU tournaments. After a 1-4 start, the Lady Cougars won 22 of their next 23 games, which included a 13-game winning streak.

Campbell County has beaten teams from 31 different counties in Tennessee (Anderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Cumberland, Fentress, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Rhea, Roane, Sevier, Scott, Union, Van Buren and White) and several from Kentucky during its six-year journey filled with AAU tournament championship games, overtime battles, buzzer beating wins and losses, and lots of miles traveled to represent Campbell County girls basketball.

Teams from Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Virginia have filled the schedule. Twenty-three of the 33 losses have been by seven points or less.

The Lady Cougars have defeated the past two Tennessee state AAU championship teams in their age division. Last season, Campbell County defeated the Crossville Lady Comets, 35-33, in the championship game of the Smoky Mountain Shoot-out Girls AAU Tournament at Seymour. This season, the Lady Cougars defeated the Powell Lady Mayhem, 22-20, at Powell for the championship of an AAU tournament.

The Lady Cougars have played the state AAU champion Georgia Lady Pistols from Atlanta along with several games against the Tennessee Flight Select and Tennessee Team Hustle clubs, both Nike exposure teams that play many out-of-state and national tournaments, over the organization’s six-year span.

The 2011 Campbell County Lady Cougar AAU team consists of eight players from four different schools: Campbell County High School freshmen Jamie Mynatt, Megan Caudill and Chelsey Finkenbine; Anderson County High School freshman Dara Roberts, Jacksboro Middle School eighth graders Olivia Brown, Courtney Charles and Whitney Williamson; and LaFollette Middle School eighth grader Amber Guy on the roster.

The Lady Cougars claimed their first tournament championship of the season during the weekend of March 11-13, going 5-0 at the Clinton Middle School Jamfest AAU Shoot-out. Roberts’ 16-point performance led the Lady Cougars to a season opening 31-24 victory over the Roane County Lady Raiders from Kingston.

Roberts added another tournament high 18-point game in round two along with an 11-point effort from post player Megan Caudill resulting in a 47-16 Campbell County victory over the Jacksboro Lady Kaos. Brown’s two second-half 3-pointers in the semifinals helped spark a 32-23 comeback victory for the Lady Cougars over the Tennessee Lady Shock from Midway in Roane County. Campbell County used eight-point scoring efforts from Brown, Roberts and Caudill to win the championship game, 29-27, over the Roane County Lady Raiders in a game played at Clinton Middle School.

Campbell County claimed its second AAU tournament championship the following weekend, March 18-20, going 4-0 at the Anderson County Pyro Classic AAU Shoot-out with victories over the Jacksboro Lady Shock, 39-18; the Jefferson County Lady Roadrunners, 34-19; the New Market Lady All-Stars, 45-21; and the Jacksboro Lady Shock, 52-28.

Roberts led the tournament in scoring with 48 total points, including 16 in the semifinals and 18 in the championship game. Roberts and Brown both hit four 3-pointers during the finals of the tournament.

Campbell County claimed its third AAU title by winning the Morgan County Adidas State Farm Playmakers Girls Classic for the second consecutive year on Saturday, April 19. The tournament field included the Scott County Lady Highlanders, the Fentress County Lady Pink Lightning from Jamestown, the Wartburg Lady All-Stars and the Roane County Lady Hit Girls from Harriman.

The Lady Cougars got 14 points from Charles, 11 points from Mynatt, 10 points each from Brown and Williamson, eight points from Caudill and seven points from Roberts in a 60-20 victory over Wartburg in a game played at Coalfield School. Campbell County won the tournament with a 67-32 victory over the
Roane County Lady Hit Girls behind a club record single game performance of 26 points and seven 3-pointers from Roberts. Charles recorded her second 14-point game of the tournament to go along with nine rebounds.

Mynatt had a double-double performance with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Brown hit all four 3-pointers she attempted for 12 points. Caudill added 2 points and 8 rebounds, as the Lady Cougars set an organizational record with 67 team points scored in a single game.

Campbell County won the 2010 Morgan County Tournament with a 37-36 victory over the Wartburg Lady Bulldogs after trailing 24-9 at halftime. The Lady Cougars also won the Morgan County Playmakers AAU Tournament in 2008 by defeating the Wartburg Lady Shooters, 34-25, in the finals at Petros Joyner Elementary School.

The Lady Cougars’ fourth AAU title of the season occurred the weekend of April 29-May 1 when they won the Knoxville Mayhem Mayday Girls AAU Tournament in games played at the Powell High School Sports Complex, Powell Middle School and Powell High School. Williamson’s 10 points and Roberts’ 9 paced Campbell County to a 34-22 win over the Blount County Hoop It up Girlz from Maryville. Campbell County hit 15 of 23 free throws during the game. All seven players scored in a round two, 45-41 victory over the Jefferson City Lady Trotters. Mynatt and Williamson both hit double figures with 10 points each. Roberts added 9 points, while Caudill had 8 including 5 of 6 free throws. Brown turned in a 17-point effort, including five 3-pointers, in a 49-27 semifinal win over the Roane County Lady Raiders. Mynatt added double figures with 14 points. Campbell County won the championship on Sunday, May 1 with a 22-20 defensive effort. Brown paced the defense with six steals. Mynatt led the scoring with 9 points, and Roberts played the role of heroine by sinking a pair of free throws with four seconds left to break a 20-20 tie to help the Lady Cougars upset the Powell Lady Mayhem on their home court at Powell High School. Campbell County’s scrappy style of play resulted in hitting 47 of 85 free throws during the tournament.

The Lady Cougars’ fifth AAU Tournament championship came at Wartburg Elementary School on May 6 with victories over the Coalfield Lady Yellowjackets, 55-19; and the Morgan County Lady All-Stars, 41-30. Guards Roberts and Brown paced the win over Coalfield with 15 and 10 points, respectively. The Lady Cougars rallied from an 11-0 deficit in the finals behind 12 points from Brown, 11 from Roberts and 10 from Williamson.

Other Lady Cougar AAU tournament victories included a 41-39 decision over the Knoxville Lady Dream Team at South-Doyle Middle School. Williamson led the way with 10 points. Finkenbine’s 6-point effort included hitting 4 of 4 free throws during the second half. The final victory of the season on May 21 featured Roberts’ five 3-pointers to highlight a 19-point performance at Clinton during the Lady Cougars’ 41-29 effort over the UnderArmour Lady Shamrocks team made up of 9th graders from six different high schools in Knoxville during the Anderson County Tropical Shootout AAU Tournament.

Campbell County had close losses, 49-43 to the Sparta Lady Warriors from White County; 41-37 to the McMinn County Lady Swarm from Athens; 28-26 to the Fentress County Lady Pink Lightning from Jamestown; 45-42 to the Sevierville Lady Swagger; and 33-32 and 36-28 to the UnderArmour Lady Shamrocks.

At the postseason banquet, Mynatt was recognized for her offensive play in reaching a career AAU milestone of 1,500 points. Mynatt has scored 1,554 career points in 152 AAU games. She scored her 1,000th point on May 30, 2009 against the Lady Crusaders from Bristol, Va. during an AAU tournament championship game at Powell. Mynatt scored 321 points during the 2010 season and 210 this year. Mynatt hit the 1,500-point mark this season against the Roane County Lady Raiders in a game played at Powell. Mynatt was recognized as the team’s best all-around skills player this season with 146 rebounds, 43 steals, 37 assists and 7 blocked shots. Mynatt also hit 19 three-pointers and made 60 free throws in 25 games this year. Mynatt has played all six seasons with the club.

Brown, who has scored 816 career points, was recognized as the team’s assist leader with the playmaker award. Brown hit 35 three-pointers this year after hitting 50 a year ago. She has played in every game since the club formed in 2006.

Roberts, who has played the last three seasons after joining the club as a Lake City Middle School 7th grader, has scored 742 points during a three-year span and helped her team to an 85-22 record and 17 AAU tournament championships from 2009-11. Roberts led the team in scoring with 272 points this season, which included making 50 three-pointers. Roberts, who last season was the team’s best free throw shooter (22 of 23 second half attempts), received the team’s best offensive player award this year.

Williamson was recognized as the team’s best defensive player with 80 steals in 20 games. Charles, who will be a freshman this fall at Jellico High School, led the team with 12 blocked shots and added 113 rebounds to earn a post player award. Caudill earned the rebounding award with 127 boards and was second on the club in blocked shots with eight. Finkenbine earned the team’s hustle award for her defensive effort in the Lady Cougars’ full-court pressure style and was flexible in her offensive skills by playing post, wing and point guard during the season. Guy, who had a record-breaking 100 blocked shots in 31 games during the 2010 season, was recovering from injury in 2011 but will be a huge part of the AAU club’s future.

The Mount Paran Baptist Church Family Life Center in Jacksboro has served as the team’s practice facility since the AAU club was formed in Jan. 2006. During the 2008-09 seasons, the Campbell County Cougars formed an AAU boy’s team consisting of Sean Chapman, Josh Cannon, Aaron Brown, Lucas Nelson, Garrett Reese and Kolby Poteet, all of whom played basketball together at Campbell County High School. The six-player roster posted a two-year record of 25-16, winning two AAU tournaments and finishing as runner-up in six area AAU tournaments.

“I am extremely proud of all the girls and boys and what they have accomplished together as friends to one another on and off the basketball court,” said Coach Randy Brown.

Tryouts for next season’s Campbell County Lady Cougars 15-and-under/10th grade AAU basketball team will be held in Feb. 2012.