Ector -- Avery topped Savoy and Ector beat Boyd in the girls semifinals of the 1st Annual Ector Holiday Tournament Thursday night. The hometown Ector Lady Eagles will take on the Avery Lady Bulldogs in the girls championship at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

In semifinal action Thursday night...

Avery 64, Savoy 49

A physical and quick Avery Lady Bulldog team proved to be too much for the Savoy Lady Cardinals in girls semifinal action at the 1st Annual Ector Holiday Basketball Tournament.

Avery poured in 26 points in the opening period to take a nine-point lead, 26-17, into the second stanza.

Savoy senior Caitlin McClain powered up in the paint for a basket and Bailey McGehee hit both ends of a one-and-one as the Lady Cardinals got to within five points of the Lady Bulldogs, 26-21.

Avery answered with a 9-0 run.  Taylor Bowles buried a triple, Whitney Kelsoe knocked down a jumper, Brea Varley hit a lay-up and Kelsoe came back with another bucket that stretched the lead to 35-21.

Savoy's Emily Cornell scored on a drive and McGehee hit a pair of free throws as the Lady Cardinal cut the lead to 10 points, 37-27, at halftime.

Avery's Brea Glenn nailed three triples and led all scorers at the break with 14 points.

The second half opened with Avery capitalizing on two Savoy turnovers as the Lady Bulldogs stretched their advantage to 41-27.

Savoy would close to within nine points, but Avery finished strong to post  64-49 victory.

 Avery's one-two punch of Taylor Bowles and Brea Glenn led all scorers with 23 points and 19 points, respectively.  Brea Varley and Whitney Kelsoe each chipped in six points.

Bailey McGehee led Savoy with 17 points, Whitney Cooke put up 13 points, Caitlin McClain had eight points, Linda Leyser scored six, Natalie Brasher threw in three points and Emily Cornell tossed in two points.

Ector Lady Eagles 42, Boyd 34

The Ector Lady Eagles thrilled the hometown crowd with an eight point win over the Boyd Lady Yellowjackets in the second tournament semifinals contest Thursday.

Ector led 7-6 at the first buzzer with Brittney Crowell, Kristan Huey and Cristi Abbott all draining jumpshots while Danyelle Huey dominated the boards.

Boyd's offense was more effective in the second quarter, although Ector's Krystal Wilson hit two three-point shots and teammate Bailey Whitehead added a triple to keep the Lady Eagles within striking distance.  Boyd led 22-20 at intermission.

Ector went to work in the third period.  Crowell turned an offensive rebound into two points. Kristan Huey lobbed a nice pass inside to Whitehead for a basket. Crowell canned a short jumper and Kristan Huey drove baseline for a basket.  Meanwhile, a stingy Lady Eagle defense was only giving up two points in the third quarter.  Ector went into the finale with a 28-24 advantage.

The Lady Eagles would continue to cash in offensive rebounds down the stretch.  Danyelle Huey had a pair of putbacks and Crowell grabbed another offensive board and went up for a basket.

Ector pulled away for a double-digit lead, 42-31, before Boyd hit a late triple to make the final score, 42-34.

Kristan Huey did a good job bringing the ball downcourt and the senior point guard led her Lady Eagles with 11 points.  Brittany Crowell put up eight points, Danyelle Huey scored seven, Krystal Wilson and Bailey Whitehead both had six points, with Cristi Abbott and Ana Hernandez each tossing in two points.

Boyd junior Shae Williams led all scorers with 20 points.

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