HG boys, girls advance to Gibbs finals

HASKELL – Harmony

Grove basketball tightened its stranglehold on the Bill Gibbs Memorial Tournament on Thursday in Haskell as both senior high squads picked up another win to advance to the annual event’s finals Saturday.

The Lady Cardinals kicked action off with its second straight win, this time beating Murfreesboro 65-32. Harmony Grove snapped a short twogame losing streak Tuesday in the first round.

The Lady Cardinals began Thursday’s eventual rout sluggishly, leading 8-7 after the first quarter. However, the second frame heated the team up and continued to rage throughout as Harmony Grove trampled 24-15 in the first half.

Shelby Kiker jumpstarted the Lady Cardinals with a team-high seven points in the opening half.

Harmony Grove kept with its dominating ways in the third, scoring 19 to strengthen its lead by 10 more at 43-24.

Already in full control, the Lady Cardinals would add its biggest quarter of the night in the fourth, scoring 22 while allowing only eight to their opponent.

Also, Harmony Grove is yet to allow double-digit scoring in any quarter through two rounds of the tournament.

Four Harmony Grove shooters finished in double digits on the night with Kiker

leading the charge with 12. Sydney Brown, Olivia Wallace and Natalie Harder all followed with 11 each. Charly Chancellor also contributed well with nine in the win.

Wallace would add eight assists and six steals for her club, while Kiker hit the boards hard with nine rebounds, one shy of a double-double in the victory.

Harder and Brown both would have four steals, coupled nicely with Chancellor’s seven rebounds for the Lady Cardinals.

Harmony Grove will now face Mt. Vernon/Enola in the finals Saturday at 6 p.m. Mt. Vernon took down Saline County’s Bauxite Lady Miners Thursday 51-43 to advance to the championship.

The Harmony Grove senior boys performed well again Thursday, also earning a trip to the championship game with their 67-43 rout of Premier.

Blake Ammons provided nearly all the Cardinals would need in the win, leading with 27 points on the night.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 12-7 lead after the first, before eventually leading at the half, 30-20.

Sixteen of Ammons’ points would come in the first half.

Whitt Richardson took the reins in the second half for Harmony Grove, scoring 14 of his 22 during that time.

Harmony Grove would lead by 19 with a quarter to go before adding 21 in the fourth to advance.

Harmony Grove will take on rival Bauxite on Saturday in the finals at 7:15 p.m. at Daniel Henley Fieldhouse in Haskell. The Miners clipped the Cardinals 57-53 in the second game of the season earlier this year.

Full content from both title games will be published in Tuesday’s issue of The Saline Courier.