WBB: JHS, Gary are Day 1 winners at Classic
the key and drives to the basket during Thursday's opening round
of the A.J. Lawrence Classic in Joaquin. Bolton and the Lady Dragons
dropped a 33-26 decision to Hemphill on Thursday. (Photo by
John Krueger)
JOAQUIN, Tx -- The host team from Joaquin, along with the Gary Lady Bobcats were two of the big winners Thursday in the opening day of the annual A.J. Lawrence Classic basketball tournament, which is being played this year here in the new Ram Gymnasium.
Led by Mallory Martinez's 23 points, Joaquin crushed Longview Christian, 59-24, to highlight the opening day girls' action. Gary knocked off Logansport, La., 37-25, in Day 1 of the double-elimination tourney to move to the winners' side of the bracket. The Shelbyville Lady Dragons struggled offensively, falling to Hemphill, 33-26, and the Timpson Lady Bears, minus two starters, dropped a 62-25 setback at the hands of Martinsville.
Here's a rundown of the opening day of action:
Joaquin 59, Longview Christian 24 -- Martinez scored 10 points in the first half and nine more in the fourth quarter to lead all scorers with 23 Thursday morning as she led the Lady Rams to their second straight win and third in four games in a convincing 59-24 opening-round victory over Longview Christian.
Whitney Vaughn added five points in the fourth quarter and finished in double-figures with 10, while Jordan Welch scored nine points. Katelyn Cockrell dumped in seven points, Ava Stephens pitched in four and Ryleigh Yates, Annabeth Vaughn and Chasity Baker scored two points each.
Joaquin (4-3) put this contest away early, rolling out to a 17-5 lead at the end of the opening period as Welch threw in five and Martinez added four. Martinez added six points in the second quarter as JHS moved out to a 30-13 lead at the half.
Joaquin stretched the lead to 40-20 at the end of the third quarter and then Martinez scored nine points in the fourth, while Whitney Vaughn added five as JHS put the game away.
Gary 37, Logansport, La. 25 -- Riley Beckham, Brittany Odom and Collyn Pinkerton combined for 13 fourth-quarter points for Gary as the Lady Bobcats broke open a close contest with Logansport by outscoring the Lady Tigers 16-7 over the final eight minutes to surge to the 37-25 win.
The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Lady Bobcats as they improved to 3-6 on the season.
Odom finished the game as the leading scorer for Gary, scoring 10 points, while Beckham added seven and Pinkerton and Macie Innerarity each chipped in five points.
Josey Greer pitched in four points for the Lady Bobcats and Channa Bird, Keely Armstrong and Chelsea Powdrill scored two points apiece.
The game started off as a low-scoring affair, with Gary holding on to an 8-4 lead after eight minutes. Odom then dropped in five points in the second quarter to help the Lady Bobcats to a 16-11 lead at the break.
The Lady Tigers began cutting into the GHS lead, trimming it to 21-18 lead heading into the final period. But Odom threw in five points and Beckham and Pinkerton each scored four down the stretch as Gary outscored the Lady Tigers 16-7 to pull away for the win.
Hemphill 33, Shelbyville 26 -- The Shelbyville Lady Dragons came into Thursday's game with Hemphill having won five of their last six games, but they were never able to get in sync in a 33-26 setback at the hands of Hemphill.
Kadeshia Turner was the only play able to get into double-figure scoring for Shelbyville (6-3), dropping in 12 points. Kierra Montgomery added eight points and Jakera Land, Shameria Lathan and Tamara Lathan each scored two points apiece.
Butler led Hemphill with 12 points, while Blake added 11.
Montgomery scored six of her eight points in the first quarter as Shelbyville surged out to a 12-9 lead after the opening period. But Hemphill began cutting into the lead in the second and took a 20-17 lead at the half.
Turner, who scored nine points in the first half, was then held scoreless in the third quarter and only managed three points in the fourth as the Lady Dragons scored only nine points in the final 16 minutes as the Lady Hornets scored just enough to pick up the win.
Martinsville 62, Timpson 25 -- With starters Tammi Harris and Harley Martin missing as they attended to a family matter, the Timpson Lady Bears' offense was stymied by the Martinsville Lady Pirates as THs leading scorer Jakelia Caraway was held to just four points as the Lady Bears fell, 62-25, to Martinsville in the opening round.
Rachel Reeves was hot in the first quarter, scorching the net for six points. But she cooled off and finished with just nine for Timpson (2-4), which lost for the fourth time in its last five games. LaToya Cartwright added six points, Caraway and Reed managed four each and Caitlyn Smith scored two points.
Reeves scored six points and Cartwright added four in the opening stanza as the Lady Bears trailed only 16-12 after eight minutes. But the Lady Pirates outscored Timpson 12-8 to take a 28-20 lead at the half.
Timpson was held to just two points in the third quarter, while MHS scored 16 as the Lady Pirates took a commanding 44-22 lead entering the final period.
Action continues on Friday with Joaquin taking on Louisiana School, which is the ninth school in the tourney and received a first-round bye. Other second-round action includes Gary taking on the survivor of the Joaquin-Louisiana School matchup at 3:30 p.m. and Hemphill and Martinsville squaring off at 2 p.m. in another winners' bracket game.
On the losers' side, Longview Christian will take on Logansport at 5 p.m. and Shelbyville and Timpson will tangle at 12:30 p.m. The winner of the Shelbyville-Timpson matchup will take on the loser of the Joaquin-Louisiana School game in a 6:30 p.m. contest.
Action will conclude on Saturday in the girls' bracket with the consolation game scheduled for 9:30 a.m., while the third-place game is set for 11 a.m. and the title matchup will take place at 12:30 p.m.
A.J. LAWRENCE CLASSIC
Girls' Schedule/Results
Thursday, Dec. 1
Joaquin 59, Longview Christian 24
Hemphill 33, Shelbyville 26
Martinsville 62, Timpson 25
Gary 37, Logansport 25
Friday, Dec. 2
Joaquin vs. Louisiana School (NG), 11 a.m.
Shelbyville vs. Timpson (NG), 12:30 p.m.
Hemphill vs. Martinsville (OG), 2 p.m.
Joaquin/La. School win. vs. Gary (NG), 3:30 p.m.
Longview Christ. vs. Logansport (NG), 5 p.m.
Shelbyville/Timpson win. vs. Joaquin/La. School los. (NG), 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 3
Consolation Game (OG), 9:30 a.m.
Third-Place Game (NG), 11 a.m.
Championship Game (NG), 12:30 p.m.