Live: Boswell holiday girls tournament

By Greg Bogomol

Special to the Star-Telegram

Haltom held off host team Saginaw Boswell, 37-30 Thursday, in the opening round of the Boswell Holiday Tournament.

Boswell (12-7) scored just 13 points through three quarters, but cut the deficit to 29-28 with 1:50 to play on a jumper Megan Ledbetter. The teams then exchanged turnovers before Haltom's Taylor Dangerfield extended the lead to 31-28 with 57 seconds to play.

"They're a group of fighters and they have always been that way," Haltom coach Mandy Rogers said. "There aren't any excuses, we got scared there. We're a young team and I'm proud the girls stayed in there and maybe we grew up a little bit today."

After a missed shot, Haltom (6-11) got a pair of free throws from Nikki Hukill with 46 seconds left, but 31-30 deficit increased to 33-30 on a bucket from Victoria Seay with 34 seconds to go.

Dangerfield rebounded a missed shot with 28 seconds to go to make it 35-30 and after a charging foul on Boswell, Hukill hit two free throws to seal the victory. Haltom advances to face Joshua at noon tomorrow.

"I just told them to relax and calm down that we had the lead and didn't have to shoot the ball," Rogers said. "I hope this game instilled some confidence and will help us continue tomorrow and onto district."

Richland 39, Trophy Club Nelson 31: When a big play needed to be made in the fourth quarter, Richland's Destiny Nunley, a Harvard signee, was there.

The 6-foot-0 senior scored four of her team-high 11 points in the quarter, but she also grabbed five rebounds -- none bigger than an offensive board and basket with 1:56 left to go -- to give the Rebels a 37-28 lead.

"It was really good to get the cobwebs off after a five-day layoff because you never know what to expect," said Richland coach Kate Goldberg, whose team improved to 14-4. "Our post players are very aggressive and when they play well we play well."

Nelson (13-7) tried to stay in the contest behind junior guard Tralyn Woodard who scored nine of her game-high 15 points in the second half. The Bobcats who struggled in the first half and scored just eight points, cut the Richland lead to 30-24 on a basket by Sydney Smallwood, but four consecutive misses led to a 5-0 Richland run.

Joshua 38 Carrollton Turner 37: Kalie Schuman hit a jumper with two seconds to go to lift the Owls (7-11) past the Lions.

After a Turner free throw with 12 seconds left, the Owls moved the ball to mid-court and called time out with seven seconds to go.

The winning shot capped a comeback from seven points down in the fourth quarter. Joshua meets Haltom at noon Friday.

Schuman finished the game with five points all in the second half and the game winning shot was her only points of the fourth quarter. Hailee Calfee led Joshua with 17 points, while Turner was led by Palma Rodriguez with 13. Turner hit just six of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Fort Worth Christian 57, FW Western Hills 54: The Cardinals, ranked 20th in the TABC private school rankings, needed a pair of free throws from Kym Young with 7.5 seconds to seal the victory. The Cardinals trailed 54-53, but scored the game's last four points and got a turnover to seal the win.

Young led the way with 18 points and teammate Megan Roswell added 14 in the victory as they advance to meet Little Elm in a winners bracket game at 10:30 a.m. Friday. Western Hills was led by Crystal Jones' 25 points and Taylor Whiteside's 14.

Hurst L.D. Bell 68, Keller Fossil Ridge 41: The victorious Blue Raiders had three players in double figures, led by Cierra Johnson's 19 points, to advance in the winner's bracket.

Maggie Lockwood added 15, 12 in the first half and teammate Leay Taylor finished with 13 all in the first half. The only downside for Bell was making just 10 of 25 free throws.

Keller Timber Creek 58, Arlington 28: The Falcons jumped on Arlington early outscoring them 15-6 as Emily Spector scored eight of her game-high 12 points. Timber Creek made seven 3-pointers in the win.

Western Hills 64, Northwest 62: Taylor Whiteside made a 3-point shot as time expired to lift the Cougars to a consolation-round win. Northwest had just taken the lead on a basket from Brianna Barnhill. The Cougars trailed by 12 entering the fourth quarter. Bailey Porter led the comeback, scoring 12 of her 18 points in the final frame. Barnhill added 22 in the loss. Western Hills’ Crystal Jones who finished with 31 points, and scored 56 for the day.

Fossil Ridge 76, Arlington 46: Arlington got a combined 42 points from Georgia Beatty and Sierra Salser, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a balanced Fossil Ridge attack in the consolation round. The Panthers’ Grayson Bright had 20 points and and Maurisha Peyton added 16.

Boswell 63, Turner 30: In a consolation-round win, the Pioneers had 10 players score points — led by Megan Ledbetter and Alyson Clark with 12 apiece. Boswell led 23-5 after one quarter.

Southwest 51, Trophy Club Nelson 46: Southwest rallied from six points down after three in another a consolation-round game. Nelson missed five of eight free throws in the fourth quarter. Southwest was led by Ja’Nysha Childers’ 18 points and Tearria Johnson with 17. Nelson was led by Shaila Wolter’s 17 points, but she was limited to two points in the second half.

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