Lady Bulldogs Claim Third in Tournament
Alayna Anderson and Ava Sawyers
Alayna AndersonBY JASMINE WILLIAMS
jasmine@dresdenenterprise.com
MARTIN (December 28) – The Gleason High School Lady Bulldogs had a good finish in the 56th Annual Lion’s Club Christmas Tournament, bringing home third place.
The tournament began against Halls with the Lady Bulldogs picking up a big win by a score of 61-21. Gleason then faced off against Trenton Peabody where the Bulldogs were unable to take the lead and lost by a final score of 47-35.
Losing to Trenton left the Bulldogs up against Haywood for a chance at the third-place title. It was a tight game for both teams. Haywood came out in the first quarter with 16 points, while Gleason faced a strong defense and only scored eight points. Gleason improved in the second quarter scoring 12 points, but was still down at the halftime with a score of 24-20.
Haywood held onto its small lead going into the third quarter with Gleason still struggling to meet the net. In the fourth quarter, the game turned around in the Lady Bulldogs’ favor. Haywood had multiple fouls, which resulted in Gleason making six points from the free-throw line. Gleason’s Alayna Anderson scored 13 points in the fourth quarter alone. The Lady Bulldogs were able to shoot 18 points in the fourth quarter and Gleason was able to take the game despite being behind for much of it.
The final score was 45-43. Alayna Anderson of Gleason scored the most points in the game with 21, while Mecasia Taylor for Haywood scored 18 points.
With this win, Gleason finished in third place overall for the Lion’s Club Christmas Tournament.
Players named to the All Tournament team from Gleason were Alayna Anderson and Ava Sawyers. Ja’Demka Welch-Field of Haywood was also named to the All Tournament Team.
