The Hartville Lady Eagles picked up their 19th win of the season on Saturday when they opened the Class 3, District 10 tournament with a 43-37 victory over the host Houston Lady Tigers.
That win gave them a semifinals match-up with rival Mansfield just after press time.
(No statistical information was provided on the Houston game by press time.)
Before their regular season schedule came to an end, the Lady Eagles picked up three solid Summit Conference victories.
Hartville scored 22 points in the first quarter on the road at Conway to help them to a 59-45 victory.
McKinley Sanders scored eight points and Molly Brown added seven points in the opening frame.
Sanders scored six of her team’s eight points in the second quarter as Hartville was outscored, 19-8, cutting their lead to four points at halftime.
The Lady Eagles responded in the third quarter as Jenna Kelley scored seven points and Kaylee Ferguson added a big 3-pointer.
Up 14 heading into the final frame, Hartville made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Sanders scored 17 points; Kelley had 16; Brown had 15 points; Kylie Harris added eight points; and Ferguson scored three points.
Hartville then traveled to Gainesville and shut the Lady Bulldogs out of the scoring column in two quarters as they won, 49-10.
Hartville led, 28-8, at halftime before holding Gainesville to just two points in the final two quarters.
Meanwhile, Sanders was having a field day, scoring 13 points in the first quarter and nine more in the second quarter.
She finished the game with 24 points. Kelley had nine points; Brown had five; both Hannah Keith and Caitlynn Pierce scored three points; and Harris had two points.
Hartville struggled offensively in their match-up with Fordland. Though they scored nine points or less in three quarters, their 15-point second frame helped them to a 37-19 victory.
Kelley scored four of her team’s six points in the first.
Brown hit two, 3-pointers in the second and Sanders added five points to help Hartville to a 21-13 halftime lead.
Sanders scored eight points in the fourth to help seal the win for the Lady Eagles. She finished with a team-high 17 points; Brown had 10 points; Harris scored six points; and Kelley had four points.
