GRAY – The consolation (third place) round of the District 1-A girls basketball tournament on Monday at Bobby Snyder gym pitted Cloudland against Hampton.

In a nip and tuck battle throughout the Lady Highlanders rallied for a 56-53 win.

“Hampton has got a good team,” Lady Highlanders head coach Mike Lunsford said. “They have got one of the best players I have ever seen (Shyanne Tuelle). But I am proud of our kids, they played hard. I kept them in a long time so they were tired and hurting, Kenzie was hurting, Megan was hurting, but they fought through it.”

The Lady Bulldogs (12-18) ended the first period with an 18-14 lead behind eight points from senior forward Shyanne Tuelle and four from Haley Carden.

An 11-4 run in the second period saw Cloudland (20-11) take a 25-22 lead with just over two minutes left in the first half. Two buckets from junior post Trinity Vines and a trey from sophomore Kenzie Birchfield were the big shots for the ‘Landers in the run.

Moments later Kinzy Hill hit a deuce and Tuelle hit a long shot to stake Hampton to a 27-25 lead. Campbell ended the second period with a layup shot as the Lady ‘Dogs went into the locker room with a 31-28 lead.

After Cloudland outscored Hampton 14-11 in the third period the game headed into the final stanza knotted at 42-42. Hampton took a 48-46 lead after a three-point play from Stephanie Campbell but Vines hit a deuce to tie it once again.

Tuelle hit a deuce but Kenzie Birchfield answered with a trey for a 51-50 ‘Landers lead. Stacia Wilson hit a bucket in the paint for a 53-50 Cloudland lead. The scoring for the remainder of the game was from the free throw line. Hampton was three-for-four while Cloudland was three-for-six.

GIRLS

District 1A consolation

Cloudland 56-53

Cloudland (56)

K. Birchfield 7, Wilson 8, Gouge 4, Lunsford 10, Vines 18, J. Birchfield 9.

Hampton (53)

Campbell 16, Royston 4, Tuelle 16, Guinn 3, Hill 5, Collins 9.

Cloudland 14 14 14 14 – 56

Hampton 18 13 11 11 – 53

3-point goals: C 4 (K.Birchfield 2, Lunsford 1, Vines 1), H 3 (Tuelle 1, Hill 1, Carden 1)