A strong first quarter put the Rosspoint Lady Cats in control early in their championship game matchup Thursday against Wallins at Harlan County High School.
Rosspoint raced to a 17-5 lead after one quarter thanks to an aggressive defense and good shooting by guards Jaycee Simpson, Reagan Clem and Jaylee Cochran, who teamed for 15 points in the period.
As it turned out, the Lady Cats needed all those early points as Wallins battled until the end. The Lady Devils turned up their defensive pressure down the stretch to get as close as six before falling 48-41.
“We started off real well, but then we got in some foul trouble and kind of went flat in the second half,” Rosspoint coach Rob McHargue said. “You have to give credit to Wallins though because they came to play. They’ve improved a lot.”
Clem scored 16 points and Cochran added 14 to lead the Lady Cats.
Kylee Runions led Wallins with 16 points. Brooklyn Haywood added 13.
Cochran’s 3-pointer pushed the Rosspoint lead to 22-5 early in the second quarter before Wallins slowly came to life on offense. Raegan Landa and Kayleigh Templeton each hit 3-pointers and Runions connected on two free throws to cut the deficit to 10. Taylynn Napier, who led Rosspoint to a fith- and sixth-grade championship last week, provided a spark off the bench with a basket and two free throws to make the score 26-15 at the break,.
Rosspoint was up by 13 going into the final quarter before Haywood sparked another Wallins run to get the Lady Devils within six in the final minute.
“Jaycee fouling out didn’t help us, but Reagan hit some crucial shots and Shasta (Brackett) got some big rebounds,” McHargue said. “Our girls really get after it with summer ball and travel ball and then right to high school ball after this. They’ve done a great job.”
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Black Mountain pulled away in the second half to capture third place in the tournament with a 44-21 win over James A. Cawood.
Vanessa Griffith scored 12 and Jayla Dillman added 10 to lead the Tigerettes.
Adleigh Creech paced the Trojanettes with nine points.
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Rosspoint (48) — Jaylee Cochran 14, Lauren Lewis 7, Shasta Brackett 1, Reagan Clem 16, Jaycee Simpson 6, Taylynn Napier 4.
Wallins (41) — Kylee Runions 16, Raegan Landa 3, Brooklyn Haywood 13, Kayleigh Templeton 6, Addison Day 2, Olivia Johnson 1.
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Black Mountain (44) — Vanessa Griffith 12, Jayla Dillman 10, Madelynn Bennett 8, Kelsie Middleton 4, Aubrey Madden 4, Tori Wynn 2, Savanna Madden 2, Shawnee Peace 2.
James A. Cawood (21) — Ally Fee 6, Maddie Fields 2, Clarissa Yost 4, Adleigh Creech 9.