A season of epic battles and a week of tourney games have left just four teams still with hopes of claiming an elementary championship. The finals are officially set in the 3-Pt Club postseason tournament and two squads will get a chance cap a perfect regular season with a tournament title this Saturday.
The Morrison Eagles and Eastside Lady Bulldogs, No. 1 seeds in their respective tournaments, will carry lengthy winning streaks into the title tilts at Charlie Dalton Gym after advancing the finals with big wins Thursday. Morrison topped Irving College 36-25, while Eastside’s girls got by Dibrell 38-23.
Waiting in the championship games are a pair of dangerous No. 2 seeds, each of which are playing their best ball at the right time. The Centertown Warriors dispatched Eastside 33-21 Thursday in the semifinals and the Morrison Lady Eagles played a strong second half to eliminate the Centertown Lady Warriors 30-22.
The girls championship game will pit Eastside star Sarah Kate Winfree, one of the best scorers in recent elementary history against a duo of run-and-gun guards from Morrison. Winfree scored 22 points in the semifinals to push Eastside into the championship, her latest in a long line of big scoring nights as the seventh grader has led the 7-8 grade league in scoring the last two years.
On the other side, Morrison can keep pace of the scoreboard with Harmoni Kennerly and Chloe Wanamaker. Kennerly’s second-half explosion – scoring 10 of her game-best 17 points after the break – kept Morrison alive in the semifinals and Wanamaker, a speedy lefty who loves to get into the open court, added nine points.
The boys game will also has a heavyweight feel with contrasting styles as Morrison leans on guard Kristopher Robledo to lead, while Centertown has found its footing by playing through burly post Ryan Romzek.
Robledo had 17 points in Morrison’s semifinal win over the Tigers and Romzek led Centertown to victory over Eastside with a game-best 16 points. Full box scores from the semifinals can be found on the Standard website.
The championship games will start at 6 p.m. this Saturday at Charlie Dalton Gym.
Eastside 38
Dibrell 23
Lady Bulldog scoring – Sarah Kate Winfree 22, Alyssa Parsley 8, Avery Bolding 3, Ansli Womack 3, Atlantis Fults 2
Lady Wildcat scoring – Anslee Crick 12, Dayana Esparza 7, Katie Betchel 4
Morrison 30
Centertown 22
Lady Eagle scoring – Harmoni Kennerly 17, Chloe Wanamaker 9, Myka Garibaldi 2, Marlie Huff 2
Lady Warrior scoring – Rylee Young 7, Alyssa Boyd 5, Presley Winfree 4, Ruby Denning 4, Stella Dunn 2
Morrison 36
Irving College 25
Eagle scoring – Kristopher Robledo 17, Hayden Fults 6, Rylon Morrison 6, Eli Davis 4, Elijah Farless 3
Tiger scoring – Drystan Cantrell 8, Anden Green 6, Jaxyn Petrovic 3, Eastlan Green 2, Peyton Rucker 2, Mason Petrovic 2, Trenton Martin 2
Centertown 33
Eastside 21
Warrior scoring – Ryan Romzek 16, Kiptyn Medley 8, Ryder Gilispie 5, Jack Moore 3, Kayden Solomon 1
Bulldog scoring – Dean Cooper 7, Lex Winfree 7, Jackson Gunter 3, Dylan Delong 2, Case Livesay 2
