Lady Tigers dominate Daytona

The DeKalb County Lady Tigers had fun in the sun over the Christmas break as they dominated Daytona, winning the Daytona Beach shootout, taking four wins over an international assortment of opponents.

“We had a 12-hour ride the day after Christmas and then  had to play our first game at nine that morning,” said Lady Tiger Coach Danny Fish of the bus ride to Florida.

The Lady Tigers took care of business to begin their Daytona campaign, knocking off LaRue High School out of Kentucky by a count of 40-28, They then returned to the hardwood later the same day and topped Jasper Place, 38-31. Jasper Place had a longer ride to the tournament than did the Lady Tigers as the squad hails from Edmonton, Alberta Canada.

The Lady Tigers put themselves in the finals by beating Dutchtown High School out of Hampton, Ga., by a count of 47-28 the following day. The DeKalb County team was able to smother Dutchtown, allowing only 12 first half points while Lady Tiger, Kadee Ferrell bucketed 20 points by herself during the game.

The Lady Tigers were able to claim to the championship hardware from the 30th annual Daytona Shootout by topping Pulaski, Ky., in the finals, 39-29.

According to Coach Danny Fish, the Lady Tigers had a 15-10 lead in the opening frame of the title game but foul trouble with Emme Colwell and Megan Walker threatened to derail their run. The Lady Tigers did get solid support from Megan Cantrell, Grace Griffin and Summer Crook off the bench and were able to take a 17-13 lead into the half. DeKalb County started the third on a 14-6 run which included four 3-point baskets in the quarter. They held a 31-19 lead going into the final frame and held on for the win.

Emme Colwell led the Lady Tigers in the championship game with 13, Kadee Ferrell had 12, Megan Walker had seven, Mya Ruch had five, and Kenzie France added two.

Kadee Ferrell was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament while Emme Colwell, Mya Ruch, and Megan Walker were named to the All-Tournament Team.