On Dec. 26 in the Hawks' Invitational tournament, the Allendale-Fairfax High varsity girls spread out the scoring and played lockdown defense in the final quarter to beat Williston-Elko High 45-39 in the opening round.
Behind a strong fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers of Allendale-Fairfax High turned a 34-33 lead into a 42-35 advantage with 1:28 left to play.
Koshjah Hall of the Lady Tigers fueled the late run with five points and three rebounds.
Hall finished with a double double performance with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Hall nailed a crucial three-pointer in the last two minutes.
Defensively, the Lady Tigers forced the Lady Blue Devils into 12 turnovers in the last four minutes of play. Alexandria Gibbs and Amber Neblett each had three steals in the final quarter.
Allendale-Fairfax High coach Perry Smalls said his young team made mistakes but was able to overcome miscues for a victory.
"We don't have a lot of experience on the court with only one senior," Smalls said. "Early in the game, we missed a lot of baskets in the paint and had problems holding on to the ball. In the fourth quarter, we settled and executed better. We hit most of our open shots, played tough defense and converted our free throws."
Several other Lady Tigers played well. Parris Lee had eight points and six rebounds. Jasmine Banner had eight points and nine rebounds.
For Williston-Elko High it was a game of missed opportunities. The Lady Blue Devils hit only 14 of 38 shots in the paint, including only two of 13 during the last two minutes of play.
"It's hard to win games when you can't put the ball in the basket," Williston-Elko High coach Eva Strong said. "The tempo was in our favor. We just didn't convert on shots close to the basket."
The top offensive player for the Lady Blue Devils was Ciera Smith with 14 points, seven rebounds and nine steals. Ashley Williamson came off the bench and provided 11 points, including a three-pointer in the fourth quarter. Ebony Corbitt had eight points, 10 rebounds and six steals. Keke Parker added four points, five assists and five steals.