Lady Bulldogs advance to third-place round
DECATUR — The Lady Bulldog basketball team had reason to celebrate Dec. 1 as it posted its first win of the season during the second round of the Decatur Holiday Hoops basketball tournament at Peterson Gym in Decatur.
The five day tournament began Nov. 28 with eight teams meeting in the first round of this winter classic. Teams from Mountainburg, JC Westside, Mulberry, Union Christian, Eureka Springs, Bergman junior and senior varsity and the host, Decatur, all vied for the tournament championship to be played on Dec. 3.
The Decatur Lady Bulldogs opened the girls’ tournament by playing the Mulberry Lady Yellow Jackets Nov. 28.
Decatur jumped to an early lead in the first quarter but quickly began to struggle on the board, losing control of the game to the Lady Yellow Jackets. Decatur never recovered as Mulberry held on to a 10-point lead by the end of the game, 38-28. Mulberry advanced to the second round winners bracket while Decatur went to the losers bracket on Nov. 30. The Yellow Jackets, however, were unable to play their scheduled Thursday game so the Lady Bulldogs’ game was moved to Dec. 1 against the Lady Eagles from Union Christian.
In a strange turn of events, the Eureka Springs Highlanders, who lost to Westside in the first round, had to pull out of the tournament due to an injury and illness which left them with only three players. The Lady Bulldogs filled Eureka’s spot to take on the Lady Dragons from Mountainburg. This gave Decatur an extra game before their scheduled second round appearance with Union Christian.
The Lady Bulldogs continued to struggle with shooting, falling behind the Lady Dragons early in the first half. Mountainburg’s strong shooting overwhelmed Decatur and the girls stayed under 15 points throughout much of the game. The Lady Bulldogs tried to mount a comeback late in the final quarter but fell far short. The Lady Dragons took the victory, 44-24.
But Christmas came a little early for the Lady Bulldogs as they got ready for the Lady Eagles on Thursday in their regularly scheduled second round appearance. Decatur took the court with a completely different demeanor and opened with a two-point shot by Paige Vann. Vann would lead the scoring, hitting 9 of the 14 points in the first quarter and giving the Lady Bulldogs a 14-8 lead. Decatur continued to dominate Union Christian through the remainder of the first half, taking a 22-14 lead into the halftime break.
Decatur continued to score throughout the second half. Union Christian pulled up to within one midway through the final quarter, but by the final 90 seconds of the game, the Lady Bulldogs widened their lead to four. The Lady Bulldogs held on to take their first victory of the season, 43-39, and advance to the third-place round on Dec. 3. This was the first time the Lady Bulldogs advanced this far in their own tournament in more than four years.
Cameron Shaffer led the scoring for the Lady Bulldogs with 16, followed by Paige Vann with 12, Sammie Skaggs with 7 and Desi Meek with 6.
The Lady Bulldogs’ final opponent of the tournament would be the same team that defeated them on Nov. 30. The Mountainburg Lady Dragons took the third-place trophy home by defeating
the Lady Bulldogs, 56 -29.
In the championship round, the JC Westside Lady Rebels defeated the Bergman Panthers in a close game, 55-54. The Lady Rebels took home the Decatur Holiday Hoops champion- ship while the Lady Panthers finished second, followed by the Lady Dragons in third and the Lady Bulldogs fourth.
Bergman JV 43, Mountainburg 30; JC Westside 96, Eureka Springs 15; Bergman 65, Union Christian 22; and Westside 55, Bergman 54.