The McClave Lady Cardinals won their second consecutive District 2 championship with a 45-32 victory over rival Eads Saturday night at the Lamar Community Building.
It was the Cardinals fifth district championship in the last six years.
It wasn't easy, however. The Eagles, behind stellar guard Jordan Barnett's 20 points, made it tough on the Cards all the way. With the two teams feeling each other out defensively, McClave took a 12-6 first quarter lead on A Shelby Coen baseline jumper with just seconds remaining in the quarter.
Behind eight points from Barnett, Eads closed the gap to five at halftime in a physical hard fought first half. Using their box-and-one defense on McClave's leading scorer, Jerrica Mallard, Eads was able to frustrate McClave offensively in the first half.
The Cards made some slight adjustments at half and used a big third period to pull away from Eads. With two big three-pointers from Coen, McClave was able to outscore Eads 14-6 in the quarter to take a commanding 37-24 lead.
McClave was six for six from the free throw line in the final stanza and eight for 10 in the second half to keep Eads at bay in the closing moments. Although Barnett had 20, McClave's stingy defense allowed only 12 points to the other Eads' players.
Coen led the McClave scorers with 12, while Mallard added 10. Junior Adrianne Cline had a big night for McClave with seven points and 13 rebounds. She also had some outstanding outlet passes to help the Cardinal fast break.
"It is always good to beat Eads. We definitely wanted to win this game, as it meant that we are able to stay home for Regionals, rather than drive 500 miles to Dove Creek. It wasn't a pretty win, but I will gladly take it. We played well enough. I thought we got contributions from everyone playing," said Cardinal head coach Dick Peecher.
McClave put themselves into position to move to the finals with 61-23 drubbing of Granada in the opening round behind 21 points from Mallard and 15 from sophomore Karlee Stuart. They then used an 18-3 third quarter to handle Kit Carson in the semifinals 54-22. Mallard again led the way with 21 points, while Stuart added 10.
The wins move McClave to 21-1 overall and the number one seed in the upcoming Regional to be held at the Lamar Community Building.
"It was a good tournament for us. We now gladly look forward to the next step. We will have some tough competition in order to move on to the State Tournament," stated Peecher.
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The McClave Lady Cardinals won their second consecutive District 2 championship with a 45-32 victory over rival Eads Saturday night at the Lamar Community Building.
It was the Cardinals fifth district championship in the last six years.
It wasn't easy, however. The Eagles, behind stellar guard Jordan Barnett's 20 points, made it tough on the Cards all the way. With the two teams feeling each other out defensively, McClave took a 12-6 first quarter lead on A Shelby Coen baseline jumper with just seconds remaining in the quarter.
Behind eight points from Barnett, Eads closed the gap to five at halftime in a physical hard fought first half. Using their box-and-one defense on McClave's leading scorer, Jerrica Mallard, Eads was able to frustrate McClave offensively in the first half.
The Cards made some slight adjustments at half and used a big third period to pull away from Eads. With two big three-pointers from Coen, McClave was able to outscore Eads 14-6 in the quarter to take a commanding 37-24 lead.
McClave was six for six from the free throw line in the final stanza and eight for 10 in the second half to keep Eads at bay in the closing moments. Although Barnett had 20, McClave's stingy defense allowed only 12 points to the other Eads' players.
Coen led the McClave scorers with 12, while Mallard added 10. Junior Adrianne Cline had a big night for McClave with seven points and 13 rebounds. She also had some outstanding outlet passes to help the Cardinal fast break.
"It is always good to beat Eads. We definitely wanted to win this game, as it meant that we are able to stay home for Regionals, rather than drive 500 miles to Dove Creek. It wasn't a pretty win, but I will gladly take it. We played well enough. I thought we got contributions from everyone playing," said Cardinal head coach Dick Peecher.
McClave put themselves into position to move to the finals with 61-23 drubbing of Granada in the opening round behind 21 points from Mallard and 15 from sophomore Karlee Stuart. They then used an 18-3 third quarter to handle Kit Carson in the semifinals 54-22. Mallard again led the way with 21 points, while Stuart added 10.
The wins move McClave to 21-1 overall and the number one seed in the upcoming Regional to be held at the Lamar Community Building.
"It was a good tournament for us. We now gladly look forward to the next step. We will have some tough competition in order to move on to the State Tournament," stated Peecher.
