Bulldogs, Lady Eagles capture championships
Centertown bounced back from a slow start, but couldn?t quite overcome Morrison?s early dominance Friday night, as the Lady Eagles wrapped up their season with a 20-17 victory in the finals of the fifth- and sixth-grade championship tournament.
Morrison?s enthusiasm and tough defense helped the Lady Eagles get off to a strong start, as they forced 10 turnovers in the first period and took a 10-0 lead behind three Sarah Rains baskets and two more from Jenna Underwood.
With the Lady Eagles up by a dozen, Centertown?s girls finally erased their goose-egg with 1:23 to play in the first half, when Madison Walkup connected on a layup. That would prove to be the Lady Warriors? only basket of the half, but Underwood hit for the only two the Lady Eagles would add to their total, as they went into the half up 12-2.
A 6-2 Morrison run opened the second half, but Centertown came to life offensively late in the third, putting together a 6-0 run of its own to close the gap to 18-10 leading into the fourth.
Morrison kept its eight-point lead until the final minutes of the game, when Centertown pulled itself back into the contest with three free throws over a 38-second span. The final shot, coming from Katie Womack, came at the 1:01 mark and pulled the Lady Warriors within two possessions at 20-15.
The Lady Eagles? missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Centertown closed the gap even further with a McKenzie Vickers basket with 26 seconds remaining. But time ran out on the comeback, and Morrison claimed the tourney title with the three-point victory.
Underwood?s eight points led the Lady Eagles, who got six from Rains before she fouled out of the contest late in the fourth. Erin Dunn, Judith Cathy and Courtney Krickel had two apiece.
Centertown was led by Walkup?s seven point, with Vickers and Womack adding five each.
The Lady Eagles reached the finals with a 33-27 overtime victory over Eastside on Thursday night, while Centertown topped Irving College by a 24-19 margin in their own semifinal matchup.