Tradition continues as Lady Eagles repeat
Defending a crown is very hard to do.
But the Morrison Lady Eagles did just that Saturday night, with a 28-27 win over the Lady Warriors of Centertown to capture the Warren County Elementary Tournament title.
Centertown hit the scoreboard first as Megan Bain was fouled and hit one of two. Elizabeth Kennamer put the Lady Eagles on the board at the 4:15 mark as she hit a 3-pointer and helped Morrison to a 7-5 lead by the end of the first period.
In the second period both teams struggled from the floor at times, as Morrison hit for five of its nine points in the period from the charity stripe. Brittany Frazier did the damage for the Lady Warriors with nine of their 11 points in the period and helped Centertown to a 16-14 lead. But with just four seconds left in the half, Kennamer hit for two as she tied the game at 16-all at the break.
In the third period both teams played solid defense. Morrison shut down the paint and controlled the defensive boards. Frazier scored the Lady Warriors only two points in the period with a jumper from just inside the arc.
Centertown had its own style of aggressive defense and kept pressure on the ball. Morrison struggled to get the ball inside the paint and by the end of the period had only six points but held a 22-18 lead going into the final frame.
Trailing by four, the Lady Warriors went to work and cut into the Eagles’ lead at the 3:56 mark as Breanna Taylor and Amber Gammon hit one basket each to make it a 24-22 game.
Morrison held an one-point lead with just under a minute to play when Shea Hyatt came up with a big steal to give the Lady Warriors a chance to take the lead. Centertown missed the shot and quickly fouled to stop the clock. Morrison had a chance to put the game out of reach from the foul line, but missed four shots to keep the Lady Warriors hopes alive.
Centertown drove the ball down court with eight seconds left in the game. The Lady Warriors went to the line but failed on the free opportunity and Morrison escaped with the tournament title.
For the Lady Eagles, Kennamer had 14 points followed by Kelah Walker with seven, Casey Hopkins had four, Casi Rogers hit for two and LaNae Bess added one point on the way to the eighth-grade girls’ fourth championship for their careers at Morrison.
Frazier led Centertown with 16 points. Taylor had four, Rebekah Tinsley, Brooke Prater and Gammon had two points each. Megan Bain added one point.