Merit -- The hometown Bland Lady Tigers and the speedy Campbell Lady Indians were the final two teams to take the court to see who would walk away with the championship trophy at the 16th Annual Bland Invitational Basketball Tournament. In an exciting contest where the winner wasn't determined until the final shot, Campbell headed home with an impressive 54-51 victory over a determined team from Bland.
A very competitive opening period set the tone for this contest and the teams were all knotted up at 9-9 when the first buzzer sounded.
Bland knocked down 19 points in a wide open second quarter and the Lady Tigers took a 28-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Campbell had a slight advantage in the third period as the Lady Indians pulled even at 38-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bland found themselves trailing 46-42 midway through the final frame when the Lady Tigers made a run for the title. Bland's Michelle Estrada hit a pair of free throws to make it a two-point game. The Lady Tigers got the ball back on a steal by Cheyenne Phipps and Morgan McNatt tied the game, 46-46, when she was fouled grabbing an offensive board and dropped in two free throws. Another free throw, this time by Estrada, gave Bland a 47-46 lead. It turned out to be short lived.
Campbell's Sarah Ingle drained a long deuce to put the Lady Indians back on top, 48-47.
Estrada tied the game once more with a free throw.
Raedeena Skrempski showed why she would go on to earn the tournament MVP when the Campbell junior came up with a key turnover and dished off to Haley Davidson for a lay-up that gave the Lady Indians a 50-48 advantage with just over a minute to play.
Bland's Morgan Scobee sank a free throw, however Campbell got a little breathing room when Katie Seal canned a triple that put the Lady Indians in front, 54-49.
The Lady Tigers looked inside to senior playmaker McNatt for a basket that trimmed the lead down to 54-51 with 10 seconds showing on the clock.
Campbell missed the front end of a one-and-one, which gave Bland the ball back with 5.7 seconds remaining. The Lady Tigers got off one last shot that fell short at the buzzer and Campbell had a three-point win in the showcase game.
Katie Seale scored 17 to lead the Lady Indians, Sarah Ingle and Haley Davidson each knocked down nine points, Raedeena Skrepenski scored seven Jeanette Williams put up six points, Jordan Jaco threw in three points, Breanna Ashmore added two points and Kayla Morgan netted a free throw.
Bland's Morgan McNatt led all scorers with 20 points, Michelle Estrada poured in 18 points, Katie Hightower finished with five points, Cheyenne Phipps put in three points, Rubi Gamero and Jaci Welborn both tossed in two points, with Morgan Scobee dropping in a free throw.
The girls all-tournament team consisted of Alex Hilliard (Dodd City), Cessna Reed (Trenton), Kristan Huey (Ector), Jeanette Williams (Campbell), Haley Davidson (Campbell), Morgan McNatt (Bland), Michelle Estrada (Bland), and tournament MVP Raedeena Skrepenski (Campbell).
Campbell head coach Steve Guffey received all-tournament coach honors.
