Kingston falters against Valley Springs

There were a pair of close games in the North Arkansas College Senior Girls Invitational Tournament on Wednesday.
Valley Springs moved past Kingston in the opener, 62-52, while the Jasper girls dismissed Rural Special, 55-53. Ozark Mountain beat Lead Hill, 73-38, and Alpena got past Yellville-Summit, 48-40
Valley Springs 62, Kingston 52

ValleySprings opened the third quarter with a big run on the way to posting a 62-52 win.
The Lady Tigers led at halftime, 29-26, after trailing at the end of the first period, 20-19.
Opening the second half with a 3-pointer from Tayla Trammell, the Lady Tigers then got a basket from Macy Willis. Eliza Drewry added a long shot and Valley Springs was leading, 37-26. That was the first double digit lead of the game.
Kingston broke the ice with a basket from Lila Hartness.
The Lady Tigers then scored the next eight points.
Willis hit a layup and then added a free throw. Trammell connected on her second trey of the period and then she scored inside.
Valley Springs’ last points of the quarter came from Camie Moore.
Kingston ended the period strongly as they outscored the Lady Tigers, 8-2.
Emma Kivell hit two 3-pointers and Hartness added two free throws.
The Lady Tigers led with a period left at 47-36.
Valley Springs got the fourth off with a bang. Trammell hit a trey and then Moore added a free throw. Willis hit a shot to give the Lady Tigers a 53-36 lead.
Kingston was not done. Harness hit two field goals with the second coming off of an offensive rebound.
After Drewry hit two free throws for Valley Springs, Callie Edgmon drained a trey for Kingston.
Paige Randall hit two straight buckets for Kingston to cut the Valley Springs lead to 57-47.
Trammell moved the Lady Tiger lead to 12 points, but Lauren Fancher cut it back to single digits with a 3-pointer.
Leading Valley Springs in scoring was Trammell with 20 points. Willis added 19, Moore and Lamarie Watkins eight each, Drewry seven and Katey Henson one.
Kingston was led by Hartness with 15 points. Edgmon added 12, Randall 11, Kivell eight, Fancher three and Rilee Pittman two.
Jasper 55, Rural Special 53
Jasper outscored Rural Special, 19-13, in the fourth quarter to produce a 55-53 win over upset-minded Rural Special.
The Lady Rebels started the fourth period with a 40-36 lead.
Tiana Siebert started the scoring for the Lady Pirates in the fourth period with a layup.
Willa Young added the next basket before Charlee Breedlove added a trey.
Laney Daniels, who had a big fourth period, scored next before Jadeyn Middleton hit a free throw.
Daniels hit the next two shots for Jasper.
Maggie Thomas then connected on a long bomb to put the Lady Pirates at 53 points. She then hit the game winning shot for Jasper.
Rural Special moved out to a 14-13 lead at the end of the first period. Both team scored 11 points in the third period.
Leading Jasper in scoring was Daniels with 16 points. Middleton added 11, Young nine, Thomas and Siebert eight each and Breedlove three.
Ozark Mountain 73, Lead Hill 38
The Ozark Mountain press took control of the game late in the first period on the way to producing a 73-38 win over Lead Hill.
Lead Hill played with the Lady Bears to begin the game.

Kelly Middleton gave Ozark Mountain a 2-0 lead, but that scored was answered by Alexus Egger of Lead Hill.
Kieria Kleinert knocked down a 3-pointer for the Lady Bears, but Lauryn Moon hit a long shot with 6:03 to tie the game at 5.
Ozark Mountain got a bucket from Brooklynn Tennison and then a score from Jasmine Fletcher. Joshanna Middleton scored to put Ozark Mountain ahead, 11-5.
Khloe Pena hit a 3-pointer to get the Lady Tigers as close as they could get the rest of the night.
Joshanna Middleton hit a free throw and then a basket. Tara Yocham then had a steal and hit a layup.
Jailyn Jackson then scored to give the Lady Bears a double digit lead at 18-8.
Pena ended the Lady Bear run with a score, but Ozark Mountain went into the first break with a 22-10 lead.
Ozark Mountain moved ahead, 29-10, and, 41-22, at halftime.
Leading Ozark Mountain in scoring was Tennison with 14 points. Jackson added 11, Fletcher 10, Kelly Middleton and Joshanna Middleton nine each, Brooklynn Cunningham eight, Yocham seven and Kleinert five.
Lead Hill was led by Moon with 17 points. Pena added seven, Aubrey Wilson five, Egger four, Kendra Wagner three and Kaydence Wilson two.
Alpena 48, Yellville-Summit 40
Alpena had to put a Yellville-Summit charge to rest in posting a 48-40 win.
The Lady Leopards had taken firm control of the game early and then had to withstand a Lady Panther charge.
Laini Block hit two free throws with 2:01 left in the third period to give the Lady Leopards a 37-20 lead.
Yellville-Summit would not end the quarter quietly. Abby Methvin scored for the Lady Panthers that was followed by two free throws from K.J. Moore.
Rorie Cobb ended the third collecting an offensive rebound and turning it into points for the the Lady Panthers.
Alpena’s led was reduced to 37-26 with a quarter left to play.
Yellville-Summit didn’t allow the quarter break to end the momentum.
Sierra Burrow hit a 3-pointer and then Methvin scored to make it a 37-31 contest. The Lady Panthers hurt themselves with missing four free throws in the opening minute of the fourth period.
After going more than three minutes without points, Alpena began to find the range.
Bryanna McNair hit back-to-back 3-pointers for Alpena.
Block then put the cap on an 8-0 run that gave the Lady Leopards a 45-31 lead.’
Hannah Hayward stopped the Alpena run with a basket for Yellville-Summit with 5:15 left in the game.
Neither team could score in the final minutes of the game as Yellville-Summit won the last 5:15, 6-3.
Moore started the game with a basket for Yellville-Summit.
The Lady Leopards scored the next seven pionts with Block getting a trey in the mix.
After Methvin hit a trey for the Lady Panthers,
Alpena scored the next 10 points. Block hit another trey and McNair had her first long shot.
Cassidy Ohler connected on two free throws and Yaiza Gonzalez hit a step-back mid-range jumper to give the Lady Leopardsa 17-5 lead.
The score at halftime was 30-14 in favor of Alpena.
Block and McNair had 15 points each for Alpena. Ohler added 12, Gonzales four and Crandell Eppes two.
Yellville-Summit was led by Methvin with 17 points. Hayward added nine, Moore seven, Cobb four and Burrow three.