Lady Eagles Basketball Team Captures Cougar Classic Third-Place Trophy

 

The Holden girls basketball team concluded its appearance at the F&C Bank Cougar Classic Tournament by securing the third-place trophy with a win over Concordia by the final score of 46-40 on Saturday, Jan. 27.

The route to the third-place game for the Lady Eagles included a first-round win over No. 6 seed Sherwood that was followed by a loss to No. 2 seed Leeton in the semifinals.

The third-place game was decided by a 22-16 second-half scoring advantage posted by the No. 3 seed Lady Eagles who played to a 24-24 halftime knot with Concordia.

“The difference in the game was our third quarter,” said Holden girls basketball coach Ben Kiger. “Addy (Campbell) had three big buckets. Rachel (Wamsley) finally hits a huge three, and against a zone, we have to hit a three. We held them to five points. That was the difference.”
Wamsley’s three-pointer put her at five points scored in the third quarter as Campbell scored six points in the frame. Lilee Keller and Lilly Carver each added two points in the period.

Campbell, Keller, Wamsley, Jaci Gower, and Jazzy Brown played in all four quarters during the trophy game win with Carver and Jenna McHenry providing minutes in relief.

“There were some girls we just rode the entire game,” highlighted coach Kiger. “Addy Campbell doesn’t come out of the game. Lilee Keller got a break like in the first quarter. When you’re that tired and you’re laying everything on the line, it’s tough to emotionally and mentally get past that tiredness. We made some errors, but overall, we finished strong.”

Holden’s 15-5 scoring advantage displayed in the third quarter allowed the Lady Eagles to outlast the Lady Orioles who showed a slight 11-8 edge in the fourth period.

“It was going to be a game of size against speed, and just which one was going to win out,” said coach Kiger in regard to Holden’s speed versus Concordia’s height. “Late in the third quarter when I said don’t foul, we did a really good job of hanging back and letting them make a mistake. We don’t need to force the issue. Let’s just let them make a mistake.

“When Jaci gets in foul trouble, that puts Lilly Carver in…she’s had such a good tournament,” added coach Kiger. “Also, Jazzy Brown has had a fantastic last few games – 10 points against Leeton, and tonight nine points.

“Jenna McHenry comes in the last 40 seconds of the second quarter, and get a backside rebound. It’s the little things. When you’re asked to come in and do something, you’ve got to deliver. There are a lot people that would say that’s not a big deal, but it is because it kept us in a tie ballgame.
“Sure it’s nice to probably win by 25, but to learn something…we made mistakes, but I think we’re going to learn from it.”

Campbell led the Lady Eagles in scoring against Concordia with 16 points. Brown followed with 9 points. Keller scored 8 points. Wamsley finished with 7 points. Gower totaled 4 points. Carver chipped in 2 points.

First Round Versus Sherwood
The Holden girls basketball team opened play in the Cougar Classic with a win over Sherwood by the final score of 48-36 on Wednesday, Jan. 24.
“That’s a game where you have two teams that know each other,” said coach Kiger. “For some reason, No. 10 (Sadie McCulloh) just blows us up. She’s such a good player. She is an athlete. She lit us up.

“Jaci got in a little foul trouble in this game, and I had to take her out. Jaci came back in that game. We kind of shut her (McCulloh) down in the fourth quarter.

“Jaci led us in scoring with 17 points,” noted coach Kiger. “She did a fantastic job. Then, Addy deserves all-tournament, in my opinion. She had to come off the floor maybe one time. She hit a three to get us kind of going when we were struggling early in this game. She leads us. She’s always the one handling the ball. Not everybody gets to coach somebody like Addy Campbell. She does a good job of leading the team.”
Versus Sherwood, Campbell followed Gower’s team-high 17 points with 13 for Campbell. Wamsley scored 9 points. Keller scored 7 points. Brown and Carver each had 1 point.

For Sherwood, McCulloh finished with a game-high 20 points.

Semifinal Versus Leeton
Following their first-round win over Sherwood, the Lady Eagles fell to Leeton by the final score of 54-44 in the semifinals on Thursday, Jan. 25.
The Lady Eagles attempted to claw out of an early hole in the game after the Lady Bulldogs took a sizable lead on the scoreboard with a strong start.
“Leeton is not the Leeton of past, but they still have all these girls who have been in a state competition,” said coach Kiger. “That’s huge. That game was all about us coming out, and we just didn’t start out well…down 20-6 in the first quarter. We got down 20, I think at one point. We cut it all the way to eight.

“I think (Leeton coach) Travis (Fleming) was a little nervous because we were pushing on the gas,” continued coach Kiger. “He kind of played where he left Jazzy open, and she made him pay. She had 10 points. Lilly Carver made probably one of the best post moves I’ve seen all year, and had eight points. Then, Rachel led us with 13. She hit a couple big threes. Those threes in the second half, that’s what kind of got us going.

“We outscored them by 10 in the fourth quarter. We just ran out of time. We just started off poor. I’m very proud of the effort of the girls.”
In other scoring for Holden versus Leeton, Campbell scored 10 points. Carver had 8 points. Gower scored 3 points.

At the conclusion of the Cougar Classic, the Holden girls basketball team held an overall record of 7-11, and stood at 0-4 in MRVC-East play.
This Friday, Feb. 2, the Holden girls basketball team hosts Richmond for a conference contest. A boys JV game is set to be played at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The girls varsity game follows the boys JV game with a boys varsity game following the girls varsity contest.