Pirates beat Mt. Vernon, fall to Skyline in Blue and Gold

Lady Pirates take third place at Walnut Grove Lady Classic over Christmas break
 
During the Christmas break, the Ash Grove High School boys’ basketball
team made the trip to Springfield to play in the Blue & Gold Tournament (Blue Division), while the girls’ competed in the Walnut Grove Holiday Classic.
Boys
The Pirates lost just their second game of the season when they fell to Skyline, 65-56, on Wednesday, Dec. 29. The Tigers jumped out to a 20-10 first quarter lead and increased that lead to 31-19 by the half. Ash Grove fought back in the third quarter, outscoring Skyline 25-16, to cut the Tiger lead to 47-44, but an 18-point fourth quarter was too much for the Pirates to overcome as they lost the game by nine
points.
“We struggled to score inside in the first half, but our guys battled back against a state-ranked team in Skyline,” said head coach Grant Williamson. “We were able to tie the game in the fourth and be very much in it until we had to foul at the end.”
Brady Nicholson led Ash Grove with 14 points and Sam Moreland added 12 points in the loss.
Ash Grove played Mt. Vernon in their second game of the Blue and Gold Tournament and were able to hold off the winless Mt’neers for a 53-50 win.
The Pirates led 19-10 after the first quarter and 34-25 at the half. Both teams played great defense in the third quarter, with Mt. Vernon outscoring Ash Grove 11-7, to cut the Pirate lead to 41-36, going into the fourth. Ash Grove put up 12 points in the fourth quarter, and the Mt’neers answered with 14 points of their own, but it was not enough, as the Pirates got the three-point victory.
“We came out shooting really well from the perimeter early and were able to ride that to a hard-fought victory,” said
Williamson.
Moreland paced Ash Grove with 25 points; Brock Mooneyham added 12 points and Nicholson finished with 10 points.
The Pirates are now 9-2 on the season and were scheduled to play at Billings last night, before heading to Marion C. Early on Friday night.
Girls
The Lady Pirates traveled the short distance to Walnut Grove over the holidays to take part in the Walnut Grove Holiday Classic and came home with a third-place trophy for their
efforts.
Ash Grove took on Hollister in the third-place game on Thursday, Dec. 30, and won 49-37.
Hollister led 10-9 after the first quarter and that would be about as close as they would get, as the Lady Pirates exploded for 20 points in the second quarter to take a 29-23 halftime lead. Ash Grove increased their lead to 41-28 at the end of the third quarter before coasting to the 12-point victory.
Emma McClelland led Ash Grove with 14 points and Brittany Gilliland added 11 points in the win.
The Lady Pirates had a tough time in the semifinal game, losing to Miller, 51-29 on Tuesday, Dec. 28.
Miller led by just one point, 9-8 after the first quarter and by four points, 19-15 at the half. Ash Grove kept it close in the third quarter, trailing only by 11 points, 35-24 but Miller clamped down on defense in the fourth quarter, allowing the Lady Pirates just five points, while putting up 16 points in the quarter. Khloe Moad led Ash Grove with 14 points.
The Lady Pirates are now 7-5 on the season and will open up their second half tomorrow night when they are scheduled to travel to Fair Grove before hosting Diamond on Friday night.