STERLING CITY - The Grady varsity girls basketball team had a roller coaster weekend at the Sterling City Tournament on Dec. 30 and 31.
Grady started the tournament with a spectacular showing against Ira.
The Lady Cats mauled the Lady Dogs 67-31.
“We were trying to get back into the swing of things after Christmas Break and I thought all the girls did a great job. Several contributed off the bench,” stated Grady coach Jym Dennis.
Jessi Everett was sensational with a game high 21 points and Sydney Gonzales and Tatum North finished in double digits as well with 14 and 11 points respectively.
Delaney Saunders and Mercedes Jimenez contributed six points each and Samantha Griffin chipped in with three.
Skye Shock, Aspen Durham, and Selig Burge had two points each.
Next up was tournament host Sterling City.
Everything was going well for Grady as the Lady Cats built an 11 point lead in the fourth quarter. But then the offense went ice cold and start committing turnover which allowed the Lady Eagles to come screaming back for a 36-35 win.
“This was the third time to play Sterling City in about two weeks. I thought we played a pretty good defensive game. We went cold and had too many turnovers and they hit a shot with four seconds left to win,” said Dennis.
Everett led Grady with 12 points followed by Gonzales with 10, Saunders eight, Griffin three, and Jimenez two.
Next up was Menard. Grady started the game slow and flat, and never managed to find its usual defensive intensity.
Menard took advantage and won 39-26.
Gonzales was high point with 15 while Saunders scored five and Griffin added three.
Jimenez and Everett chipped in with two and one respectively.
The final game of the tournament was against Eldorado.
Grady jumped out to a 25-14 halftime lead and held on for a 44-36 victory.
“We played a much better game. Defensively we had a lot more energy and did a great job of making adjustments,” said Dennis. “We were able to use our post more in this game. We took advantage of some of the mismatches we had. Not a bad way to end the tournament. We are trying to shake the rust off and get ready for district play. Proud of this group of girls for competing and working hard.”
Saunders was unstoppable scoring 18 points. Everett finished the game with 11 points and Gonzales added seven.
Jimenez and Griffin wrapped up the scoring with four points each.
Grady is 15-6 on the season and will play at Midland TLCA on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and then at Sands on Monday at 4 p.m.