GARDEN CITY - Four more games, four more wins. The Grady High girls’ basketball team played in the Bearkat Booster Klassic basketball tournament in Garden City on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and captured the championship.
On Thursday, Grady beat both Sterling City and Buena Vista followed by victories over Eldorado and Water Valley on Friday and Saturday respectively.
In the tournament opener, Grady and Sterling City looked to be playing see-saw instead of basketball with the two teams taking turns controlling the scoreboard.
The game was up in the air until the final seconds, but Grady held on for the 35-33 victory.
Sydney Gonzales had a team high 14 points and Jessi Everett added nine points.
Samantha Griffin tossed in six points followed by Delaney Saunders with four points and Mercedes Jimenez with two.
The Wildcats second game was a much better performance against Bueno Vista.
Grady opened the game with an 18-2 run and closed out the first half up 28-9. It looked like the Wildcats had a halftime hang over scoring just two points in the third quarter, but they woke up for the final quarter to put the lady Bears away 43-22.
Gonzales led Grady with 12 points and Saunders added 10 points.
Everett ended the game with seven points while Jimenez, Kinley McMorries, and Skye Shock chipped in with four points each. Griffin rounded out the books with two points.
The Lady Cats had only one game on Friday against Eldordo and it was their best all-around performance of the tournament.
Eldorado managed an early 13-9 advantage, but Grady closed the margin to 20-19 by halftime. Then in the third quarter, Grady maintained its momentum to take a 35-27 lead and continued to outplay Eldorado in the fourth quarter for a convincing 47-36 victory.
Everett was unstoppable with a game high 16 points and Jimenez and Gonzales added 11 and 10 points respectively.
Saunders tallied seven points for Grady while Shock scored two and Griffin had one.
Then on Saturday, Grady took on Water Valley for the tournament title.
The two teams were neck-and-neck through the first quarter with Grady taking the slimmest of leads, 11-10. Water Valley would hold Grady scoreless for the next eight minutes to take a 15-11 halftime lead.
Grady’s defense took over in the second half allowing Water Valley just one field goal, giving the offense the opportunity to comeback for a 25-17 victory.
“I thought it was a great tournament for us. We played a lot of great competition and had to work to come away with victories,” stated Grady coach Jym Dennis. “I thought our defense was the key for our success. In a couple of the games we had a hard time scoring, but our defense kept us in the game. I am proud of these girls and the work these girls are putting in.”
Gonzales led all scorers with 13 points followed by Griffin with five, Saunders three, Jimenez two, and Shock two.
Sydney Gonzales was named Tournament’s Most Valuable Players and Jessi Everett was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Grady’s final game before Christmas break will be a rematch with Sterling City on Friday at 4 p.m. at the Wildcat Gymnasium in Grady.