‘Jills Beat ‘Cats, 32-26
After holding a 17-point halftime lead, the Valley Lumberjills held off a great second half run by the Paden City Lady ‘Cats to win the opener of the Paden City Wildcats Christmas Classic 32-26.
There was not that much scoring in the opening quarter of play, as a three from Lumberjill Tiffany Hayes and a deuce from Lady Wildcat Megan Cutlip were the only scoring in the first period that ended with Valley on top, 3-2.
In the second period, the ‘Jills’ offense ramped it up a notch, while the ‘Cats remained quiet. Valley’s Dani Hayes hit a deuce, while Tiffany Hayes connected on another long bomb for an 8-2 advantage.
‘Jill buckets by Brittany Guthrie, Leah Morris, Jackie Greathouse and Dani Hayes, plus a free throw by Dani Hayes, tipped the scale at 17-2, ‘Jills.
Paden City finally got back on the board with an Alli Bertozzi charity toss, but a Guthrie three pointer ended the scoring in the first half with the ‘Jills on top 20-3 at the break.
To start the third frame, Tiffany Hayes connected on her third trey of the game before Paden City’s Amanda Tallman swished a three to give the ‘Cats their first field goal since the opening quarter of play.
Lumberjill Megan Cutlip then got a two from the top of the key and added free throw, while Leah Morris swished a pair of freebies. Paden City’s Dominique Craft hit a basket from beyond the arc just before the end of the third to pull Paden City to within 15 points with one period to go.
Cutlip started the ‘Cat onslaught with a deuce, but, Dani Hayes quickly answered it with a two-pointer of her own. However, a pair of Bertozzi free throws and a two-pointer by Tallman cut the lead to 11 points, 28-17 Three good charity tosses from Cutlip and a deuce from Tallman pulled the ‘Cats to within seven points at 28-21, Valley. A free throw from both Dani Hayes and Jackie Greathouse made the score 30-21. But, a three-pointer from Craft quickly got the ‘Cats to within a 30-23 striking distance before Dani Hayes’ charity toss put the game away. The ‘Cats’ Tallman nailed a basket from long range for the final game’s points.
Tiffany and Dani Hayes paced the ‘Jills with nine points each, while Morris and Guthrie each netted five markers. Greathouse scored three points and Jessica Ashcraft netted a free throw.
Tallman scored a game-high 10 points for Paden City that included a pair of three-pointers, while Cutlip netted nine markers. Craft scored four points and Bertozzi added three charity tosses.
In the second game of the Holliday Classic, Clay-Battelle nipped the Bridgeport Bulldogs 49-46 to advance to the finals to play the Valley Lumberjills.
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In the consolation match between Bridgeport and Paden City, it was the Lady Wildcats that led the whole game before falling in the fourth period, 39-38.
The Wildcats led 7-4 after one; 19-15 at the break; and 25-20 after three periods of play. That’s when the Lady Bulldogs out-scored Paden City 19-13 to claim the consolation win.
Bertozzi and Courtney Conaway paced the Lady ‘Cats with a dozen markers each, while Tallman and Cutlip netted seven points each.
In the championship match, the Lumberjills raced out to a 13-6 lead before the Clay-Battelle Lady Cee-Bees outscored ‘Jills 10-5 to take an 18-16 advantage at the break.
With most nursing flu-like symptoms, the Lumberjills were limited to only 12 points in the second half as Clay-Battelle hurtled toward a 40-30 championship victory.
Morris led the way offensively for the ‘Jills with nine points, while Heidi Shaw added seven markers. Guthrie tallied a pair of long range bombs, while Tiffany Hayes added a deuce and a three pointer. Greathouse ended the ‘Jills scoring with a three pointer.
The Lumberjills will try to even the series with the Cee-Bees when they travel to Blacksville Dec. 18 before making their way across the river to visit Jefferson County Christian, Dec. 19. Each game is set to tip off with a junior varsity match at 6 p.m. with the varsity game to follow 20 minutes afterwards.
Paden City will host another Wetzel County rival at 7 p.m., Dec. 17, when they vie with the Lady Hornets of Hundred.