courtesy of Thayer Bobcats sportscourtesy of Cassy JonesChloe Jones with her All-Tournament plaque.

Tournament to tournament: a Lady Bears recap

"The girls have done a great job of battling in each game, and I have been really pleased with the results of the season thus far," Head Coach Shannon Crain told Howell County News. "Sure, we lost some I thought we should have won, but we snuck up on a few teams and won some that their coach thought they should have won too!"
The Lady Bears are 8 and 9 in the season right now, and Coach Crain points to three losses to state-ranked teams. 
"We have a tough schedule," Coach Crain explained. "Three losses have come to state-ranked teams, and we still have three more state ranked teams to play: Ava is number 5 in Class 4, Strafford is number 1 in class 3, and Mansfield is number 10 in class 3."
Mountain Grove Holiday Tournament
The Lady Bears were seeded no. 7 in the ninth annual Mountain Grove Holiday Tournament. They would meet up with the Alton Lady Comets in the first round for the second time in seven days. The contest turned out just like the first meeting with the Lady Bears falling to the Lady Comets by a score of 50-54. Leading the Lady Bears in scoring was Chloe Jones with 15, followed by Aspin Atwell with 8, Anna Minge with 7, Kylie Cox with 7, Sharon Stevenson with 6, Dana Canado with 5, and Paisley Crudgington with 2.
Next up for the second round of the consolation side of the tournament would be a rematch with the Lady Bulldogs of Gainesville, and this one finished just like their first meeting. The Lady Bears won 45-13. Scoring for the Lady Bears was Minge with 13, Jones with 10, Canado with 9, Atwell with 5, Stuart with 4, Cox with 2, and Cochran with 2.
The semifinals paired up the Lady Bears with the host team the Mountain Grove Lady Panthers. The girls from Willow Springs controlled the contest from start to finish as the Lady Bears would out-score the Lady Panthers in every quarter and take the victory 55-44. Jones led all the scorers with 20, Minge with 16, Canado with 10, Atwell with 5, and Stevenson with 4.
The consolation championship pitted the Lady Bears against the no. 8 seed, the Seymour Lady Tigers. Seymour jumped out to an early start with a 12-7 lead thanks to their senior star, Lillie Rasmussen, who had 9 of their first quarter points. Coach Crain made adjustments in the second quarter to slow Rasmussen down, and the Lady Bears cut the Lady Tigers lead to three going into halftime. A big third quarter and enabled the Lady Bears to take a three-point lead of their own into the final frame.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Bears proved to be too much and took the championship by a final score of 50-46. Scoring for the Lady Bears was Canado with 14, Jones with 12, Cox with 10, Atwell with 9, and Minge with 5. 
Regular Season Play
Back into regular season play, the Lady Bears took on the Lady Eagles of Liberty in what would prove to be a great one on Jan. 2 in Mountain View. The Lady Bears led after the first period 12-9. That lead evaporated as the Lady Eagles took the halftime lead 25-24. The Eagles came out firing on all cylinders and extend their lead to 40-24 after the third. The Lady Bears would not be denied as they outscored the Lady Eagles by ten in the final frame and took the SCA victory by a final score of 55-51. The Lady Bears were led by Jones who had a team-high 24 points followed by: Minge with 11, Canado with 9, Atwell with 6, Cox with 3, and Stevenson with 2.
The next time the Lady Bears hit the hardwood was to face the Lady Wildcats from Licking. The Lady Bears came up short with a 31-45 loss. 
In their next two SCA games, the Lady Bears would not be fortunate. On Jan. 9, they played away against the Thayer Lady Bobcats. Although the visitors led at the half, a big third quarter for Thayer turned out to be insurmountable for the Lady Bears and they fell by the final of 40-51.
Next up was the Salem Lady Tigers on Jan. 12. This was a home contest, and the Lady Bears were looking to get back into the win column. However, the Lady Tigers controlled the game from tip to finish and took the contest by a final score of 49-35. 
Thayer Winter Classic
Going into the Thayer Winter Classic, the Lady Bears received the fourth seed and faced off, once again, against the fifth-seeded Lady Bulldogs of Van Buren. This game was one for the ages. The Lady Bears defeated the Lady Bulldogs earlier in the season and the Bulldogs were looking for revenge. The Lady Bears controlled the first quarter by a score of 19-15 and really stretched it out going into halftime, taking a 35-24 lead.
The pep talk at halftime for the Lady Bulldogs must have been good as they came out and set the nets on fire. They cut the Lady Bears lead to two going into the final frame.
The fourth quarter was one in which the lead would go back and forth and come down to the final 2.7 as Jones was fouled and went to the free throw line, where she sunk both shots. The teams headed into overtime where the Lady Bears would take control of the game with free throws and secure the victory.
Along with the victory, it was a record-setting night as Jones finished the game with a school-record 38 points, surpassing the previous record of 37.
In the second round of the tournament, the Lady Bears played the no. 1 seed (as well as number one in the state of Arkansas) Mammoth Spring Lady Bears. This game was a tough one for the Lady Bears, and they fell 33-65.  
The loss in the semifinals landed the Lady Bears of Willow Springs in the third-place game where they met up with the third-seeded Cedar Ridge Lady Timberwolves. The Lady Bears jumped out quick to an early 14-6 lead after the first quarter. The second felt like a lid had been put on both baskets as neither team scored much, but the Lady Bears took the advantage into intermission 16-13.
In the third quarter, the Lady Timberwolves came out in a man-to-man defense hoping to speed things up. The Lady Bears controlled the tempo and held a slim lead of 20-19 going into the final quarter.
The Lady Bears closed the door on any chance of a comeback and outscored the Lady Timberwolves by three and closed the game with a 30-26 score, securing the third-place finish.
Chloe Jones was named to the All-Tournament Team along with two players from Thayer and two players from Mammoth Spring.
 
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