Willard Lady Tigers finish second in Lady Wildcat Classic

The Willard High School girls and boys basketball teams hit the road last week as the girls traveled to Rogersville to take part in the Lady Wildcat Classic, while the boys went to Pittsburgh, Kan., to participate in the Bill Hanson Memorial Tournament.

          Girls
The Lady Tigers took on Stafford in the championship game of the tournament on Friday, Jan. 24, but a five point first quarter was too much for Willard to overcome, as they fell to the Lady Indians, 72-45.
Stafford outscored Willard 27-5 in the first quarter and led 37-14 at the half. Willard found their shooting touch in the second half, scoring 12 points in the third quarter and 19 points in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough to catch Stafford.
Jada Holloman led Willard with 11 points and Megan Mahan added 10 points in the loss.
Willard reached the championship game by knocking off Springfield Central 59-52 in the semifinals on Thursday, Jan. 23.
In the opening round, the Lady Tigers defeated a very scrappy team from Sparta, 59-46. Mahan led Willard with 17 points; Brielle Adamson had 14 points and Addalyn Adamson ended the game with 10 points.
“Sparta has a really good group of young talent and they played very well in the first quarter, while we did not,” said head coach J. J. Adamson. “I was proud of our resiliency, however.  They overcame a really tough stretch to begin the game, some illness and were still able to pull out a victory.”
Mahan and Brielle Adamson each were named to all tournament team.
Willard is now 11-6 on the season and was scheduled to play Springfield Hillcrest on Monday night.

          Boys
For the boys, the Tigers didn’t fare well in the Bill Hanson Memorial Tournament, only bringing home one win. They lost to Northwest Olathe, Kan., 47-45 on Saturday, Jan. 25, but defeated Carl Junction 66-49 on Friday, Jan. 24.
Willard opened the tournament by losing to Owasso, Okla., 62-55 on Thursday, Jan. 23.
Owasso led 19-18 after the first quarter but Willard fought back to take a 33-31 lead by halftime. The Tigers scored just nine points in the third quarter and trailed, 45-42 heading into the fourth quarter of play. In the fourth quarter, Owasso outscored Willard 17-13 to take the game by seven points, 62-55.
Maurice Grayer led Willard with 22 points and Daniel Abreu added 17 points in the loss.
Willard falls to 10-8 on the season and were not scheduled to play any games this week.