WALDRON – The Mount Ida Junior Lady Lions won the Waldron Junior Tournament title in grand fashion, defeating the Cossatot River Junior Lady Eagles 46-43 in overtime.
The win capped a week of victories that saw Mount Ida defeat 4A Mena, Union Christian and Cossatot River.
Mount Ida opened the tournament with a 43-32 win over the Mena Junior Lady Bearcats.
Mount Ida started things off with a 20-9 lead in the first period and went on to take a 30-16 halftime lead.
They outscored Mena 11-4 in the third and held on in the fourth to win the game by eight.
Braelynne Bates led the Junior Lady Lions with 20 points, followed by Julie Burke with nine, Addison Black with eight and Kirsten Gibbs with four. Haley Black scored two.
Their second game was a 48-11 victory over Union Christian.
The game was never in question with Mount Ida holding onto a 33-5 lead at the half. They went on to win the game by 37.
Ten different Junior Lady Lions scored in the victory with Kirsten Gibbs leading them with 10 points. Madison Smith and Braelynne Bates each scored nine, followed by Julie Burke and Abby Jones with five each.
Addison Black, Bonner Carlton, Skyler Holden, Jessica Swindle and Tessa Ray each scored two.
Mount Ida matched up with Cossatot River in the finals with the Junior Lady Eagles slipping out to a 7-3 lead in the first period. Both teams scored 14 in the second to enter the half with Cossatot ahead 21-17.
The Junior Lady Lions seized the lead in the third with a 14-5 rally, but Cossatot was able to knot things up at 39 by the end of regulation to send the game into overtime.
The Junior Lady Lions would not be denied, outscoring the Junior Lady Eagles 7-4 in the extra stanza to win the game 46-43.
Julie Burke was the leading scorer with 16, followed by Madison Black with 15. Braelynne Bates scored nine, Addison Black scored four and Kirsten Gibbs scored two.
The junior boys also competed in the tournament.
They opened the tournament with a 47-26 loss to Mena.
Jorge Lopez was the leading scorer for Mount Ida with eight points, followed by Jonathon Lagrange and Ethan Winkley with seven each. Todd Carr scored two and Cade Jackson and Chase Allenbrand each scored one.
Mount Ida defeated Union Christian 34-16 to earn their first win of the season.
The Junior Lions held Union Christian scoreless in the first half while scoring 19 themselves. The went on to win the game by 18.
Jonathan Lagrange led the Junior Lions with 12 points, followed by Cade Jackson with eight and Gage Dyer with four.
Braden Thomas, Colton Goss, Ethan Winkley, Luke Fiorello and Jathan Dillon each scored two.
The Junior Lions’ final matchup was a 41-29 defeat at the hands of Mountainburg.
Jonathan Lagrange led the team with 11 points, followed by Cade Jackson with 10 and Ethan Winkley with eight.
