It was not easy by any means, but the McAdams Lady Bulldogs are once against Division 5-1A Tournament champions.
The Lady Bulldogs needed overtime to beat a scrappy Ethel team, taking a thrilling 82-78 win over the Lady Tigers. The Lady Bulldogs advanced to the finals by beating Coffeeville 52-27 in the semifinals.
McAdams rolled past visiting Nanih Waiya 56-17 on Monday night in the first round of the MHSAA 1-A Girls State Basketball Tournament and are set to host Sacred Heart at 7 p.m. on Friday in the second round.
McAdams girls 82, Ethel 78
The Lady Bulldogs needed overtime to take a four-point win over the Lady Tigers in the finals of the Division 5-1A Tournament on Friday night.
Ethel came out and led 14-10 at the end of the first and 32-28 at the half. But McAdams stormed back in the second and outscored Ethel 22-9 to lead 50-41 going into the fourth. Ethel did not lay down as it outscored McAdams 25-16 to send the game into overtime tied at 66. McAdams outscored Ethel 16-12 in the overtime period to take the win and the Division championship
“I give Ethel credit, they took it to us,” McAdams coach Michael Huffman said. “It’s hard to beat a team three times in a row. They showed a lot of tenacity. And I’m very proud of our team as well. We had to dig deep. I’m very proud of our girls. I would have paid to watch that game; it was a good one with the way they played and the way we had to fight back and find something out about ourselves. Our whole team played well and stuck together. And we had people come off the bench and make some key shots for us. I salute Ethel for the way they played and I salute our girls as well; they played like champions.”
Kiara Brown led the Lady Bulldogs with 33 points, eight steals, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Jakyra Young had another huge night as well as she scored 32 points and pulled down 20 rebounds to go along with five steals, four assists and three blocks. Cavian Bolton had six points, seven rebounds and six assists. Aaliyah Lusk had five points while Moleyia Harmon had four points and four rebounds. Maker Griffin had six assists and six rebounds.
McAdams girls 52, Coffeeville 27
The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a big first-half lead and cruised to a 25-point win over the Lady Pirates on Tuesday of the Division 5-1A Tournament.
McAdams jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first and led 30-5 at the half. The Lady Bulldogs were able to keep that margin for the second half as each team scored 13 in the third and nine in the fourth.
Kiara Brown had a huge night with 17 points, 17 rebounds and seven steals. Jakyra Young was not far behind as she scored 16 points and had 16 rebounds. Haley Perteet had eight points and six rebounds while Verneshia Kern also had six rebounds. Maker Griffin led the team with eight assists and also had five rebounds while Robriana Clark also had five rebounds. Iyania Malone had four rebounds and four assists.
McAdams girls 56, Nanih Waiya 17
The Lady Bulldogs flexed their muscles in the opening round of the Class 1A playoffs, taking a 39-point win to end the Lady Warriors’ season.
McAdams led 12-4 at the end of the first and then outscored Nanih Way 17-3 in the second to lead 29-7 at the half. The Lady Bulldogs put the game away in the third, outscoring Nanih Waiya 25-2 to take 54-9 lead into the fourth. Nanih Waiya outscored McAdams 8-2 in the fourth for the final margin.
Jakyra Young led McAdams with 27 points, nine steals, seven rebounds and five assists. Kiara Brown ha 16 points, 12 rebounds, eight steals, four assists and three blocks. Cavian Bolton had six points and four steals while Robriana Clark also had four rebounds.
