Pirates advance to quarterfinals of Walnut Grove Tournament

Ash Grove Lady Pirates beat Greenfield, Clever Lady Jays on Duit winner
The Ash Grove boys’ basketball team went 1-1 last week, beating Greenfield but losing to Sparta.
The Pirates opened up the Walnut Grove Holiday Tournament with a 69-64 win over Greenfield on Saturday, Dec. 21, at Walnut Grove.
Ash Grove jumped out to a 27-12 first quarter lead, but Greenfield answered back in the second quarter. The Wildcats held the Pirates to just five points, while scoring 13 points of their own, to cut the deficit to 32-25 by halftime. A 26-point third quarter saw Greenfield take a 51-43 lead into the final quarter of play. The Pirates answered with some great shooting in the fourth quarter, hitting for 26 points, while the Wildcats only managed 13 points, allowing Ash Grove to pull away for the five-point win.
Easton Rust led Ash Grove with 27 points, Kyler Reece added 14 points and Dylan Gray finished with 11.
“We book-ended this game really well, said head coach Grant Williamson. “The first and fourth quarters were efficient and fortunately enough to overcome a lackluster middle half of the game to get us a win and advance to the next round of the tournament. I continue to be proud of our resilience as a team.”

At Sparta
Ash Grove traveled to Sparta on Tuesday, Dec. 17, and came home with a 54-52 loss.
The Pirates led 19-15 after the first quarter, but trailed at the half, 33-29. A very close scoring third quarter went Sparta’s way, 11-10 to increase their lead to 43-40. In the fourth quarter, the Pirates scored 12 points, but Sparta answered with 11 points to win the game, 54-52.
“Sparta’s coach and I joke that when we play it is always a close one and this proved true again,” said Williamson. “Our guys played really well and made a lot of shots to stay in it. It wasn’t the end result we wanted but was a great showing for our team.”
Rust paced Ash Grove with 23 points and Reece added 14 points in the loss.
The Pirates are now 5-3 on the season and were scheduled to play Lamar in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Monday. The tournament concludes on Monday, Dec. 30.

Lady Pirates
The Lady Pirates picked up two more wins last week by defeating Greenfield in the Walnut Grove Holiday Tournament and Clever at home.
Ash Grove played against Greenfield in the opening round of the tournament on Saturday, winning the game, 52-19.
The Lady Pirates led 14-7 after the first quarter and 29-13 at the half. Ash Grove added another 14 points in the third quarter, to increase their lead to 43-19. In the fourth quarter, Ash Grove outscored the Wildcats 9-0 to win the game by 33 points. Cora Duit led Ash Grove with 17 points.
On Monday, Dec. 16, the Lady Pirates hosted Clever and won the contest 57-54. The game was tied 15-15 after the first quarter and Clever took a 27-24 lead into the half. In the third quarter, the Lady Pirates outscored Clever 15-12 to tie the game at 39. In the fourth quarter, Ash Grove was able to score 18 points to seal the three-point victory.
Duit led Ash Grove with 23 points and 13 rebounds and Millison Sapp added 15 points in the win.
“Great team win,” said head coach Bryan Dean. “Duit had a huge night with a double-double and hit the winning shot.”   
Ash Grove is now 7-2 on the season and were scheduled to play against Fordland in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Monday night.