By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Ava Lady Bears claimed the Cabool Classic Championship Friday night with a 56-38 victory over the Koshkonong Lady Bluejays.
Ava was seeded second and Kosh fourth in the tourney, as the teams knocked out skilled Eminence (1) and Cabool (3) squads to make it to the final contest.
“It’s the third year we’ve been in this tournament and we’ve been fortunate enough to make it to the championship each year and win it,” said Lady Bears head coach Nathan Houk. “Koshkonong is a really well-coached team and our kids did a good job of staying focused in the second half, taking care of the ball and getting the win.”
Lady Bluejays head coach Charlie Ballard said he was proud of his team’s performance in the tournament.
“We were really excited to be in the finals,” he said. “We knew Ava was a great program, well-coached, and they play really good defense and make hardly any mistakes. My girls rise to the occasion and are skillful. I think they did an amazing job, they are fun to coach and work really hard. I’m so proud of them.”
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The night also marked a milestone for Koshkonong senior Megan Maffei, who scored her 1000th career point.
“A bunch of hard work in the gym has paid off, as well as my teammates helping me with everything,” said Maffei. She said she’s played basketball since first grade, and her coach said she’s an amazing player who puts in the time to be successful.
In the championship contest, each team struggled to connect with the basket in the first quarter as Kosh added just six points to Ava’s 13.
“We knew with our match-up they would really pack it in on our post players,” said Coach Houk. “Sarah Mendel (forward) has had really good games for us; Hannah (Evans), Olivia (Gastineau), and Lexie (Gastineau) all stepped up and made threes and helped throughout the game.”
Lexie and Hannah each added a three in the second quarter to contribute to Ava’s 29-16 halftime lead.
Scoring was more even in the second half with Ava topping Kosh by just a bucket in each frame, but the early deficit was too deep to overcome.
“Our whole team worked really hard and guarded and rebounded really well,” said Coach Houk. “Baylan (Alexander) and Keeley (Akers) came off the bench and defended and rebounded, and Celia (Fossett), probably our best shut-down defender, did a great job of moving her feet and defending.”
The All-Tournament Team consisted of Sarah Mendel, Ava (MVP); Megan Maffei, Koshkonong; Tyra Gee, Koshkonong; Hannah Evans, Ava; Hailey Shannon, Cabool; and Brynne Spurgin, Eminence.
Scoring for Ava: Hannah Evans, 19; Olivia Gastineau, 11; Sarah Mendel, 10; Lexie Gastineau, 7; Celia Fossett, 6; Keeley Akers, 3.
Scoring for Koshkonong: Tyra Gee, 15; Megan Maffei, 12; Lynsey Wiggs, 7; Callie Sturgeon, 2; Britney Russell, 2.
