Christian Fellowship’s Lady Eagles rolled to the title game of the CCA Warrior Christmas Tournament against Dresden, Tenn. following wins over Ballard Memorial (59-49) and Carlisle County (53-46). Dresden advanced to the championship after defeating St. Mary (68-26) and Hickman County (73-29).
After taking a 1-point lead at 49-48 on a basket by Jayden Jackson with four minutes left in the game, Dresden went on an 11-3 run over the next two minutes to lead 59-52. With 1:18 remaining, the Lady Eagles were forced to foul and Dresden made good on their free throws to win the championship game 67-54.
This was Dresden’s second straight year to win the CCA Christmas Tournament.
“It’s a loss, but from an all-around standpoint, probably our best game of the year against a high caliber opponent”, said Lady Eagles Head Coach Trevor Jackson. “They’re by far the best team we’ve played this year.”
Dresden came out firing from 3-point range, getting two straight from Haylee Jarred to lead 8-4 but the Lady Eagles closed the gap to tie the game at 8-8 on two straight baskets from Gracie Howard. A couple more 3-pointers from Maggie Oliver and Allie Spaulding and the Dresden lead was four points. CFS finished out the quarter down by one at 16-15 on a basket before the buzzer by Alyssa Warren.
Gracie Howard hit two timely 3-pointers in the second quarter, the second cutting the Dresden lead back to two points at 27-25 after trailing by six. A nice pass from Jackson to Gracie Howard for the basket tied the game up at 27 and they took a three-point lead on a three-point play by Howard. The Lady Eagles led 30-29 at halftime.
Dresden stretched out a six-point lead in the third quarter that the Lady Eagles trimmed to four at 45-41, led in the quarter by Lillian Burnett with six points.
Burnett, Rhema Howard and Jackson all contributed to gaining the one-point lead with four minutes remaining before Dresden finished out the win behind 12 points from Lucy Curry who went 8-for-8 at the free throw line.
Gracie Howard led the Lady Eagles scoring with 20 points. Jackson finished with 13 and earned a selection to the All-Tournament Team. Dresden finished with nine 3-pointers and went 12-of-14 at the free throw line.
The Lady Eagles will take a break from competition until the new year when they host Fulton City on Jan. 3. Coach Jackson said the team will now focus on the All ‘A’ Classic and their upcoming district games.
Christian Fellowship 15 15 11 13 – 54
Dresden 16 13 16 22 – 67
Christian Fellowship (8-3): Gracie Howard 20, Jayden Jackson 13, Lillian Burnett 12, Alyssa Warren 5, Rhema Howard 4
Christian Fellowship: FG 20/42, 3PT 2/7 (G. Howard 2), FT 12/18 (Jackson 5/6, Burnett 4/4), REB 23 (Burnett 10)
Dresden: Oliver 22, Curry 12, H. Jarred 10, Spaulding 9, K. Jarred 9, Oliver 3, Swatzell 2
Dec. 17: Christian Fellowship 59, Ballard Memorial 49
Christian Fellowship: Gracie Howard 27, Lillian Burnett 13, Jayden Jackson 8, Rhema Howard 6, Alyssa Warren 5
Christian Fellowship: FG 21/48, 3PT 3/7 (G. Howard 2, Burnett 1), FT 14/24 (G. Howard 7/9), REB 24 (Burnett 11)
Dec. 19: Christian Fellowship 53, Carlisle County 46
Christian Fellowship: Gracie Howard 20, Jayden Jackson 14, Rhema Howard 10, Lillian Burnett 9
Christian Fellowship: FG 18/48, 3PT 3/9 (Jackson 2, G. Howard 1), FT 14/21 (G. Howard 9/13), REB 46 (Burnett 17, R. Howard 11)
