Lady Indians, Joshua move to semifinals

JOSHUA — The Joshua Lady Owls held off a furious run by Grand Prairie, beating the Lady Gophers in the first round of the Joshua Invitational Tournament, 55-49.

With the victory, the Lady Owls (8-5) advanced to the semifinals of the tournament, where it had a rematch with the Alvarado Lady Indians from earlier in the season.

Joshua scored 21 points in the opening frame and followed it up with 17 points in the second period, taking a 38-23 lead into the locker room at the half.

But back came Grand Prairie.

A 16-9 scoring advantage in the third allowed the Lady Gophers to cut into the deficit, trailing, 47-39, going into the final eight minutes of play.

The Lady Gophers managed to creep to within four points on a couple of occasions, but the Lady Owls held on for the victory.

Freshman Katlyn Mary paced the Lady Owls with 12 points, while sophomores Elizabeth Dominguez and Ashley Clifton added 10 and nine points, respectively.



Alvarado..................................................52

Trinity Valley..........................................23



The Alvarado Lady Indians had little trouble with Trinity Valley, beating the Lady Trojans in the first round of the Joshua Invitational Tournament on Friday, 52-23.

Alvarado (9-2) took advantage of a short-handed group of Lady Trojans, who played without three starters, moving into the tourney semifinals later in the day against Joshua.

The Lady Indians outscored Trinity Valley, 14-7, in the first period and used a 15-5 scoring edge in the second quarter to open up a 29-12 lead at the intermission.

From there, it was all Alvarado as the Lady Indians cruised in for the victory.

Janie Manning led the Lady Indians with 16 points, while Tristyn Taylor and Jennifer Woodlee finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Brandee Toomer chipped in with nine points.



BOYS

Burleson..................................................53

Valley Mills.............................................50



The Burleson Elks held off a game Valley Mills squad in the opening round of the Joshua Invitational Tournament on Friday, picking up a 53-50 victory.

The Elks (4-5) advanced to the semifinals of the tourney with the win, playing the hosting Joshua Owls in the contest later Friday evening.

Burleson owned a 13-9 lead after one quarter, but used an 18-5 scoring advantage to take a 31-14 cushion into the locker room at the break.

Both teams scored 20 points in the third quarter, leaving the Elks with a seemingly safe lead at 51-34.

However, Valley Mills rallied in the fourth, nearly pulling off the comeback victory. The team’s 16-2 run, though, fell just short.

Senior center Damon Latham had 19 points to lead Burleson, while Brent Falls chipped in with 14 points. Cletis Cabbil contributed 11 points in the win.

In other tournament news, the Joshua Owls advanced to the semifinals of the event as Trimble Tech forfeited the first-round game.

Trimble Tech also forfeited another contest, this one to Valley Mills, who Cleburne played Saturday morning in the tournament.



Daniel Green can be reached at 817-645-2441, ext. 2334,

or sports@trcle.com