CARL JUNCTION 47, BLUE VALLEY WEST 38 (THIRD-PLACE GAME)
After building an early lead, Carl Junction was tasked with staving off every Blue Valley West comeback attempt in the second half in order to capture a win in the third-place game of the Freeman Lady Eagle Classic on Saturday.
The Bulldogs did just that, as the Jaguars eventually whittled the lead to single digits with four minutes left in regulation only for Carl Junction to come up time and again with a much-needed bucket down the stretch in a win over Blue Valley West on the final day of the tournament.
“It was just a really good team effort,” first-year coach Ryan Odaffer said. “Defensively, we were consistent the entire game. It was the most-complete game we have played as a team the entire season. With the new system, and them trying to figure out what we are doing offensively and defensively, I felt like they took a step towards figuring it out tonight. It was really nice to see us feel comfortable on both ends of the floor. The game slowed down for us and you could see it, and that was key to keeping that consistency.”
Carl Junction started the contest by scoring the first 10 points to build its initial advantage, with most of the tallies coming from the free-throw line.
After taking a four-point advantage into the second stanza, the Bulldogs spent the period stretching out the lead to double digits after closing the half on an 11-4 run for a 27-16 cushion.
Kylie Scott, an Oral Roberts signee, knocked down a corner 3-pointer and had a score on the break in the run, while Dezi Williams had four points—including a steal and layup on the break—and a bucket from Maddy Huffman.
The Bulldogs got the first two buckets out of the break—an inside score from Scott and an old-fashioned three-point play from Williams—to push the advantage to a game-high 16 points two minutes into the third quarter.
“When you have a young team and a lot of kids who haven’t spent a lot of time playing on varsity, it is nice to have a cushion,” Odaffer said. “Sometimes, you’re going to have a breakdown or two and teams are going to go on a run. It is nice to have that cushion so when teams do go on a run, you’re still up nine and not three.”
The Jaguars spent the rest of the third period and the start of the fourth trying to trim the deficit to single digits and cut it 11 several times.
Five points from Marisa Tomlen, including a 3-pointer, with four minutes left made the score 43-33.
Scott answered for the Bulldogs at the other end with a score on the drive before Tomlen connected from the perimeter again with a wing 3-pointer at the 3:25 mark to get within single digits, 45-36.
Once again, Scott had an answer for Carl Junction, getting the ball in the paint and scoring on the inside for an 11-point advantage with time dwindling.
“It is always nice to have a player like Kylie,” Odaffer said. “If you ever need a bucket, a big rebound or a big putback, she’s there. She is that girl for us. She stepped up tonight and carried our team through some of those lulls when we couldn’t get things going. She is going to have to do that for us all season.”
The Jaguars added one more bucket inside the final 30 seconds, but would get no closer before the sound of the final horn.
Scott had 22 to lead all scorers, 11 coming in each half, while Williams was right behind with 17 points, 10 in the first half.
Tomlen led BVW in scoring with 13 points, while Makenzie Galliart closed with eight in the loss.
After taking second place in the CJ Classic and third place in the Lady Eagle Classic, the Bulldogs will look to continue their tournament success with a spot in the Lady Mustangs Classic hosted by McDonald County at the start of next week.
“It is a building block,” Odaffer said of the early-season success in tournament play. “We go to Mac on Monday and play Farmington, who have been running teams out of the gym, too. We have our hands full on Monday, so we will need to get some rest tomorrow and get ready for them.”
Carl Junction matches up with Farmington at 8 p.m. on Monday.
BLUE VALLEY NORTH 65 (KANSAS), RUSSELLVILLE (ARKANSAS) 47 (TITLE GAME)
Blue Valley North, the top-ranked team in Class 6A, built a slim lead over Russellville by the end of the first quarter and methodically pushed the game out of reach as the seconds ticked off the clock on the way to a win in the championship game of the Freeman Lady Eagle Classic on Saturday.
The Mustangs held a 22-17 advantage after the first quarter and led by six at the intermission. Blue Valley North stretched the margin to 15 by the start of the final eight minutes and cruised to a win.
Tyara Davis led the way for Blue Valley North with a game-high 24 points, 14 coming in the second half, while Jaliya Davis was right behind with 23 points, with 12 coming in the first half. Ashley Alverson finished with eight points.
Brenna Burk had 16 to lead Russellville, while Shyisha Willis closed with 10 and Taleigh Ealy with eight.
ALL-TOURNEY TEAM
Ashley Alverson, Blue Valley North
Brenna Burk, Russellville
Jaliya Davis, Blue Valley North
Taylor Foster, Branson
Kylie Scott, Carl Junction
Aubrey Shaw, Blue Valley North
Shyisha Willis, Russellville
