Ash Grove Pirates defeat Hollister Tigers in Walnut Grove tourney

Lady Pirates fight way to championship game of Walnut Grove Holiday Classic over break
 
Both the Ash Grove High School boys and girls basketball teams traveled to Walnut Grove last week to play in the Walnut Grove Holiday Classic.
The Pirates took on Hollister on Tuesday, Dec. 23 and won the game 55-42.
Ash Grove jumped out to an 18-7 first quarter lead and extended that lead to 32-17 by halftime. A 15-point third quarter by Hollister cut the Pirates lead to 44-32. Ash Grove bounced back in the fourth quarter to outscore Hollister 11-10 to win the game by 13 points.
Kyler Reece led the Pirates with 23 points, Jaden Hance added 12 points, and Easton Rust ended the game with 10 points.
“We came out hot and played one of our better halves of basketball this season,” said Head Coach Grant Williamson. “Every player has bought in to what we were trying to do and the end result was a solid win.”
On Monday, dec. 22, the Pirates played in the quarterfinals of the tournament losing to Bakersfield, 54-42.
Bakersfield led 19-13 after the first quarter and 31-23 at the half. In the third quarter, Ash Grove scored 11 points, but Bakersfield answered with 14 points to increase their lead to 45-34. Both teams combined for 17 points in the fourth quarter.
Rust led Ash Grove with 27 points.
“We played really well on the defensive side of the ball most of the game and I was proud of our effort there,‚Äù said Williamson. ‚ÄúWe had some good looks that we just couldn’t get to drop and sometimes that is how it goes.”
The Pirates are 7-4 on the season and were scheduled to finish up the Walnut Grove Holiday Tournament on Monday.

Girls basketball
On Saturday, Dec. 27, the Lady Pirates took on Marionville in the semifinals of the Walnut Grove Holiday Classic and came away with a 47-44 win.
Ash Grove jumped out to an early 15-5 first quarter lead and were able to increase that lead to 27-15 by halftime. The Lady Comets played great defense in the third quarter, holding the Lady Pirates to nine points, while scoring 16 points to cut the deficit to 36-31. Marionville outscored Ash Grove in the fourth quarter, 13-11 but it wasn’t enough, as the Lady Pirates held on for the three-point victory.
Bristol Lathrop led Ash Grove with 18 points, Millison Sapp added 13 points, and Brooke Nicholson ended the game with 12 points.
The Lady Pirates reached the semifinals by defeating Appleton City, 60-50 in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Ash Grove led 16-13 after the first quarter and 35-30 at the half. In the third quarter the Lady Pirates played good defense and held Appleton to eight points, while scoring 14 points to go up 49-38. The Lady Bulldogs held Ash Grove to 11 points in the fourth quarter but lost to the Lady Pirates by 10 points.
Lathrop led Ash Grove with 23 points and Sapp added 21 points in the win.
The Lady Pirates are now 8-2 and were scheduled to play Walnut Grove in the championship game of the Walnut Grove Holiday Classic last night.