At long last the middle school championship night was played. In a tournament effected by weather on numerous dates the coaches, players and fans were eager for the teams to take the court. The third place games were up first on this night and Forge Ridge and Powell Valley would play first on the girl's side of the bracket. The Lady Dragons and Lady Indians played to a 18-8 first half score with the Lady Dragons leading. At the end of three the store was 24-14; Lady Dragons still leading. The Lady Indians tried to mount a comeback but it fell short at 32-20. Leading the Lady Dragons in scoring was Hannah Webb with 10-points. Madison Guy and Brianna Tolliver co-led the Lady Indians with 6-points each.

The boys third place game was next with Clairfield's Eagles competing against the Powell Valley Indians. The Indians took an early lead 3-0 but the Eagles had the lead minutes later at 4-3. AT the halftime breakheld a 3-point lead at 16-13. Clairfield responded in the third and got a 26-22 lead. At the end of three the score remained the same. The Indians used the final period to go ahead and were staying just ahead of the Clairfield team. With a 32-30 lead the Indians were looking to put the Clairfield team away and got a big basket that looked to get the job done. Clairfield fell short 34-30 but had played a great game. Kyle Evans led Powell Valley in scoring with 20-points to help the Indians win the third place trophy. Jaylyn Gerber led the Eagles with 8-points. After the two consolation games it was time for the c h a m p i o n s h i p games to begin. The SMMS and HY Livesay girls battled for the top spot on the girl’s side of the bracket. The offenses were slow to start in this one. With a minute to go in the first period the score was 8-4 in favor of the Lady Blue Devils. At the end of one SMMS led 10-4. The second period belonged to the Lady Eagles as they mounted a comeback that at the half’s end saw them get within 1-point at 13-12. HY came out in the second half and grabbed the lead 17-13. After three periods of play the Lady Eagles advantage was 26-15. The Lady Blue Devils owned the final period and made a great comeback to win the contest by a score of 34-32 in the most thrilling game of the night. Leading the Blue Devils in scoring was Dakota Turner with 20-points. Brittany Rosenbalm had 7, Lora Bunch had 6 and Lydia Ferguson rounded out the scoring with 1-point. Leading HY was Morgan Beeler with 11. B. Bayes had 7, Lindsey Elliott threw in 6 and Allison Barnett had 4-points. Alana Hoskins and Jordan Thacker both had a basket each. The Lady Blue Devils had earned this one as they came back from double-digits to win in a thriller. After the final buzzer the SMMS crowd went wild in celebration.

The final game of the night was the boy’s championship between the Eagles and the Blue Devils once again. HY opened the scoring up with a 6-1 run. The scoring stalled and after one period of play the score was 8-1 in favor of HY’s Eagles. SMMS opened the second period up with a pair of threes and were trying to make a run but the Eagles were working hard on the offensive boards and got some easy shots in the paint. When the half time buzzer sounded the score was 19-10 with HY enjoying the 9-point lead. After the break SMMS hit a few 3-pointers and once again tried to narrow the score; however, the Eagles used team speed to stay ahead. At the end of three the lead was 10 at 28-18. HY simply would not let this lead get away and took the championship by a final score of 40-27. Leading the Eagles in scoring was Zach Neverstitch with 21-points. Devon Helton had 9, Brandon Hale threw in 5, Adam Jenkins had 4-points and Jimmy J. Craig had a single point. The Blue Devils were led by Riley Thompson with 16-points. Jordon Ledford had 6, Cody Hatfield had 3 and Frank Gao rounded out the SMMS scoring with a single basket.

All-tournament boys selections: Chase Burdette, Sam Gulley, Wes King, Owen Gerber, Kyle Evans, Micah Medley, Riley Thompson, Jordon Ledford, Grant Brooks, Adam Jenkins, Brandon Hale, Zach Neverstitch, Brandon Bailey. Devon Helton was named tournament MVP. All-tournament girls selections: Lindsay Upton, Elizabeth Yeary,

Brooke Walker, Chelsey Williams, Tessa Brooks, Hannah Webb, Morgan Beeler, Lindsey Elliott, Jordan Thacker, Lydia Ferguson, Brittany Rosenbalm, Lora Bunch, Corey Burchett. Dakota Turner was the girl’s tournament MVP. Cheerleading results: Forge RidgeLady Dragons, HY Livesay Lady Eagles, Powell Valley Lady Indians and Midway Lady Red Devils were the cheerleading champions. Sportsmanship

awards: Clairfield Girls, Forge Ridge boys.