Lady Hawks' Massengill Verbally Commits To Lady Vols

Heights Girls, Boys Trample Providence Day Twice

  • Sunday, January 15, 2017
  • Larry Fleming

Hamilton Heights’ Lady Hawks defeated Providence Day, out of Charlotte, North Carolina, 62-38 behind a 30-point effort by Amber Hunt in the Music City Classic at Whites Creek High School and a few hours after junior Jazmine Massengill announced she had made a verbal commitment to the Tennessee Lady Vols.

The same teams met in the day’s final contest and the Hawks rolled to a 72-54 victory.

Massengill, playing her first game after missing two due to a left ankle injury, scored just two points but had a game-high 11 assists and four steals in 26 minutes.

“I was at a junior varsity game at our school last Monday when I made my decision,” Massengill said in a telephone interview from Nashville after the win over Providence Day.  “I told (Lady Vols assistant coach, recruiting coordinator) Sharrona Reaves that I was ready to commit to Tennessee,” she said. “But she told me I had to go through coach (Holly) Warlick. I talked to her on the phone during that JV game and I committed then.

“At first, and I’m not telling a lie, I was nervous. This was a big jump in my career because it was a life-changing decision. It was something I had to do so I could focus on school and won’t have all these coaches blowing me up. I loved the fans’ attitude, my mom and dad loved it, so I thought why not?”

Massengill becomes the second junior to make a commitment to the Lady Vols and coach Holly Warlick, who has put together a No. 1 recruiting class for 2017. Amira Collins from Paul VI Catholic School in Fairfax, Virginia, committed in December.

“I want to thank all the college coaches for the time and effort they invested in me,” Massengill wrote on her Twitter account. “I want to give a special thanks to all my coaches who’ve spent so much time working with me in the gym, helping to get me to where I am today.

“Last but not least I want to thank my family for always showing love, support, being there, and guiding me through the difficult life decisions such is this one.

“I’ve decided to stay in TN and commit to the University of Tennessee where I’ll be continuing my academic and athletic career as a Lady Vol.”

On the Hamilton Heights website, Massengill lists college offers from South Carolina, Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Kentucky, LSU, Rutgers, Alabama, Georgetown, Southern Miss, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Indiana and Wake Forest, in addition to the Lady Vols.

Massengill had made several unofficial visits to Knoxville, including last week’s Lady Vols SEC game against Mississippi State.

Massengill said she made four or five unofficial visits to Knoxville and attended the Lady Vols’ game against Mississippi State last Sunday and that’s when she chose to play at Tennessee.

“I felt great after making the decision,” said the Lady Hawks’ standout, who played varsity ball in the seventh and eighth grades at Berean Academy before transferring to Hamilton Heights. “I had originally thought I would make my decision in the summer before my senior year, but I didn’t want scholarships to run out because a lot of girls are committing. It was time to get that out of the way.”

The Lady Vols are also recruiting the Lady Hawks’ Elizabeth Balogun, a junior guard from Nigeria. Balogun is ranked 15th by ESPN and 17th by ProspectsNation.com.

Tennessee has also offered Lady Hawks freshman Treasure Hunt.

In Sunday’s win, Amber Hunt hit 11-of-15 shot, including 6-of-8 from 3-point distance to power the Lady Hawks (17-1).

Hamilton Heights made 11 of 19 attempts behind the arc, almost outscoring Providence Day by a point in that one category alone.

While the Lady Hawks shot 52.2 percent from the floor, they were 57.9 percent behind the 3-point line.

Treasure Hunt tossed in 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and connected on 4-of-5 3-pointers. Elizabeth Balogun had nine points, four rebounds and three assists.

Janelle Bailey paced the Lady Chargers with 21 points, including a 13-for-17 effort from the free-throw line.

Hamilton Heights boys 72, Providence Day 54: It sounds like a broken record, but the Canadian Connection – Therren Shelton-Szmidt, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker – combined for 60 points as the Hawks improved to 17-5 on the season.

Szmidt led the way with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 4 for 8 from 3-point distance. Alexander and Walker each scored 18 points and connected on a combined 14-of-25 shots. Walker also had nine rebounds and Mahamadou Diawara had six points and pulled down 10.

Alexander added six steals.

Trey Wertz scored 21 points for the Chargers.

On Monday, the Lady Hawks play Memphis Central at 11 a.m. CT. The Hawks are scheduled to play Nashville Maplewood at 5 p.m. CT.

LINESCORE

Girls Game

Hamilton Heights                 23 16 21 2 – 62

Providence Day                    11 5 8 14 – 38

Hamilton Heights (62) – Massengill 2, E. Balogun 9, Williams, Treasure Hunt 17, Claybrook, R. Balogun, Doumbia, White, Amber Hunt 30, Cardosa 4.

Providence Day (38) – Ives, Godwin, K. Smith, E. Smith 4, Levitz 6, Owens 3, France, Barnes 4, Janelle Bailey 21.

3-Point Goals –Hamilton Heights 11 (A. Hunt 6, T. Hunt 4, E. Balogun 1), Providence Day 3 (Levitz 2, Owens 1).

Boys Game

Hamilton Heights                 23 12 25 12 – 72

Providence Day                   18 12 13 11 – 54

Hamilton Heights (72) – Nickeil Alexander-Walker 18, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 18, Rawls, Massengill, Edwards 1, Samake, Therren Shelton-Szmidt 24, Diawara 6, Panzo 2, Jitoboh, Ezeagu 4.

Providence Day (54) – Devon Dotson 11, Trey Wertz 21, Suffren 9, Ferris, Stankavage 8, Eziri, Wood 3, Muhammad III, Miralia 2.

3-Point Goals – Hamilton Heights 8 (Szmidt 4, Walker 3, Alexander 1), Providence Day 6 (Wertz 3, Stankavaage 2, Wood 1).

(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)

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