Lady Trojans fall short in Jr. District finals

JUNCTION CITY - Fordyce took advantage at the free throw line Saturday and topped Parkers Chapel 30-25 in the girls championship game of the 2A-8 Jr. High District Tournament. The Lady Trojans finished their season with a 16-5 record.

The Lady Bugs converted on 10-of-40 at the free throw line. Parkers Chapel hit 4-of-8 free throws in the game and was never in the bonus. The foul differential was 24 on PC and 11 against Fordyce.

“I’m extremely proud of my team for their effort. We did not back down to them one bit,” said Parkers Chapel coach Justin Welch. “If anybody had asked at the beginning of the year if this team would be in the finals, not one person would’ve said yes. These girls have fought all year and I’m extremely proud of them. Their effort was phenomenal.”

Parkers Chapel led 9-7 after one quarter. The game was tied 15-15 at the half. Fordyce outscored the Lady Trojans 6-2 in the third and 9-8 in the fourth.

Madison Sullivan led the Lady Trojans with eight points with Tess Monteith scoring seven.

"That junior high bunch is a perfect example of how important team chemistry is. Those girls have accepted their roles on the team," Welch added. "You can tell they played not for themselves but for their teammates. I thought that's what propelled us to that next level. There were so many times that you could look down at the other end of the court and you'd see all the athletes on the other end. But yet, my girls didn't back down. It helped out that they had that bulldog-type of attitude. They weren't scared of anybody."