DEWAYNE HOLLOWAY|dewayne@mcnews.online
The Mount Ida Junior Lady Lions and Junior Lions swept through the finals of the 7-1A District Tournaments to claim titles in each of their respective brackets.
The Junior Lady Lions entered the tournament as two-time undefeated conference champions. They were all business in the tournament, earning wins over Mineral Springs and Ouachita to claim the District Tournament crown.
Mount Ida opened their semifinal match up with the Junior Lady Hornets of Mineral Springs with a 12 -3 lead in the first period. They outscored Mineral Springs 15-2 in the second quarter to take a commanding 27-5 halftime lead.
Things slowed down in the second half with Mount Ida outscoring the Hornets 9-4 in the third period. Mineral Springs was able to make up a little ground in the fourth after both teams turned to their benches with the Hornets outscoring Mount Ida 8-4.
Mount Ida won the match up 40-17.
Scout Wilson led the Junior Lady Lions with 11 points, followed by Kendall Qualls with nine points.
They faced a very good Ouachita Junior Lady Warriors team Saturday night, but was able to walk away with a hard-fought 36-28 victory to claim the tournament title.
Both teams struggled to score early with Mount Ida getting the nod on a 5-4 first quarter run. The two teams each scored nine in the second period with the Junior Lady Lions taking a one point lead into the half.
The two continued to battle in the third with each scoring seven. Mount Ida was able to pull away in the fourth, outscoring Ouachita 15-7 for the win.
Kendall Qualls led the Junior Lady Lions with 21 points, followed by Scout Wilson with nine.
7-1A Junior District Tournament
Quarterfinals
Junior Girls
Ouachita 19 7 16 3 45
Oden 2 3 8 6 19
Oden: Kloee Husser (8), Isabella Thomas (4), Ashtyn Fechuch (3), Shaelyn Starr (2), Caroline Lloyd (2)
Semi Finals
Junior Girls
Mount Ida 12 15 9 4 40
Mineral Springs 3 2 4 8 17
Mount Ida: Scout Wilson (11), Kendall Qualls (9), Ally Young (6), Jacklyn Collum (6), Kinlea Leach (2), Lexus Johnson (2), Addison Mayberry (2), Mattie Walden (2)
Junior Boys
Mount Ida 9 10 12 12 43
Mineral Springs 7 5 9 12 33
Mount Ida: Jed Harper (19), Dean Johnson (12), Dakota Beechy (8), Konnor Van Horn (2), Gus Gray (2)
Finals
Junior Girls
Mount Ida 5 9 7 15 36
Ouachita 4 9 8 7 28
Mount Ida: Kendall Qualls (21), Scout Wilson (9), Jacklyn Collum (5), Lillie Booth (2), Ally Young (1)
Junior Boys
Blevins 5 11 9 12 37
Mount Ida 22 11 5 7 45
Mount Ida: Dakota Beechy (14), Jed Harper (13), Gus Gray (8), Dean Johnson (6), Konnor Van Horn (4)
The Junior Boys had to play an extra game on their way to a 7-1A District Tournament Title.
Mount Ida opened the tournament with a 44-19 victory over the Oden Junior Timberwolves.
The game was close in the opening minutes as Mount Ida inched out to a 13-10 lead in the first period. They were able to open things up in the second quarter with a 23-1 rally to take a 36-11 lead into the half.
The second half was low scoring with Mount Ida outscoring Oden 8-3 in the third and the Junior Timberwolves closing the game with a 5-0 run.
Dakota Beechy led the Junior Lions with 15 points, followed by Jed Harper with 12.
Ethan Gilbert led the Junior Timberwolves with seven.
The Junior Lions faced the Mineral Springs Junior Hornets in the semis of the tournament with Mount Ida earning a 43-33 victory.
Mount Ida stepped out front in the opening stanza with a 9-7 lead and took a 19-12 lead into the half. The Junior Lions added three to their lead in the third and held on to win the game by 10.
Jed Harper led all Junior Lions with 19 points, followed by Dean Johnson with 12.
The Junior Lions faced the Blevins Junior Hornets in the finals of the boys tournament.
Mount Ida posted one of the most impressive first quarter performances in recent memory outscoring Blevins 22-5. The second quarter was even with both teams scoring 11. Blevins chiseled away at the Junior Lions lead in the third with a 9-2 run, but a buzzer beater from deep in the 3-point territory by Jed Harper gave the Junior Lions a 33-25 lead with one quarter to go. Mount Ida held on the fourth to claim a 45-37 victory and the 7-1A Junior Boys District Tournament Crown.
Dakota Beechy led the Junior Lions with 14 points followed by Jed Harper with 13.
