Lady Bulldogs finish 3rd in Missouri Tournament

Lady Bulldogs finish 3rd in Missouri Tournament

Earle coach impressed with players during weekend run

sports@theeveningtimes.com

The Earle Lady Bulldogs (6-2 overall, 3-0 conference) finished third in the Missouri Boarder Challenge Tournament this past weekend.

The Lady Bulldogs finished 2-1 in the tournament, just barely missing a victory and first place status over eventual tournament champion Neelyville High School.

Up one-point with thirty seconds left, the Lady Bulldogs turned the ball over consecutive times which led to four points for Neelyville and a 50-47 loss for Earle. Lady Bulldogs Head Coach Corey Garrett believes his ladies did not play that game to the quality he has become accustomed to. “We just didn’t finish strong,” Garrett said. “We got it back and uncharacteristically turned it over again. We just didn’t play a good game that game. We were outscored 14-4 in the second quarter.”

Despite the loss in the final game, Garrett believes his ladies gained a lot from the tournament.

“It’s some good experience playing against larger schools on the road in a hostile environment,” Garrett said. “I think the girls gained a lot of confidence from it. I can only see positive things that came from this.”

Three girls who’s play really stood out to Garrett were: RoShala Scott, Laderyca Childs and Alex Logan.

“Scott had a pretty good weekend,” Garrett said. “Friday night she led us in scoring with 35 points and helped us beat the host team Dexter Ladies 61-52. I was also impressed with Laderyca Child’s play over the three days, she performed really well. Alex Logan, that’s another player that I was really pleased with how she competed.”

Scott, who has missed the Lady Bulldogs past three games before the tournament, brings a huge scoring lift to the team according to Garrett.

“She brings a lot to the table in the form of leadership and scoring,” Garrett said. “Her scoring is unbelievable. When you need a basket, she can get it. It takes a lot of pressure off some of the other players who have stepped up big minutes in her absence. We’re a pretty good team without her but were a better team with her.”

While Garrett is very pleased with the offensive production that many of his girls provided, the Earle coach made sure to take a moment to praise the effort of some of his better defenders.

“I just want to say, CoDonnia Childs, Veronique Sanders and Elaijha Brown are three players that were pretty impressive over the threeday tournament on the defense,” Garrett said. “I was really pleased with their intensity on the defensive end.”

The Earle Lady Bulldogs tip off next in Cherry Valley against Cross County, Tuesday at 4 p.m.

By Collins Peeples