Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prescott's Junior Girls Repeat As Tournament Winners At Blevins

By JOHN MILLER

For the second consecutive year, the Prescott Cubettes won the Blevins Tournament.

But it wasn't easy for the Prescott junior girls to make it to the finals, and once there, they had to overcome plenty of adversity and defensive pressure to take the title again.

Prescott opened tourney action taking on arch-rival Gurdon.

This was the only game the Cubettes won handily, as they disposed of the Lady Devils 41-26.

Prescott utilized a balanced scoring attack in the contest, putting 10 points on the board in each of the first three periods, before scoring 11 in the fourth quarter.

The Cubettes led 10-4 after one, were up 20-14 in the second and held a 30-18 advantage after three.

Coach Cecily Butler's team played a solid game on both sides of the ball, shooting 50 percent offensively, while netting 11 of 19 free throws, and keeping Gurdon off balance the entire night.

Traci Graham poured in 21 points to lead all scorers for the contest, while Sunshine Kelly contributed 10 to the win.

Gina Haynie pulled down 13 boards, with Graham adding four steals and three assists to her stats.

Vonda Young scored 11 points for Gurdon, including a three pointer.

PRESCOTT 23

NASHVILLE 22

The semifinals pitted the Cubettes against another long-time foe, Nashville.

For three quarters, the Cubettes were in complete control. The Prescott defense was almost impenetrable, while the offense had its way.

In the opening six minutes, Prescott posted a 10-2 lead. By halftime, the Cubettes had Nashville doubled at 14-7. Prescott ended its scoring in the third quarter when it held a commanding 23-12 lead.

At this juncture, Butler had her team slow down the pace of the game. What happened was the Cubettes stalled completely, allowing Nashville to almost steal the game.

PRESCOTT 29

NEVADA 25

The finals pitted the Cubettes against their cross-county foes, Nevada.

Earlier, the Lady BlueJays had handed Prescott a resounding loss, primarily because of the Nevada 1-3-1 zone defense.

This defense shocked the Cubettes in the first meeting of these two teams, as Prescott was unable to solve the riddle.

However, Butler and her crew were ready when the two teams met in the Blevins tourney finals Saturday night.

While Nevada stayed in its 1-3-1, the Cubettes threw up a tenacious man-to-man defense.

For 24 minutes, the two squads battled toe-to-toe, much like two heavyweight boxers in a title fight.

The Cubettes and Lady Jays traded blows back and forth, but neither could connect with a solid shot to put the other away, until the fourth quarter.

At the end of one, the game was tied 4-4 as neither squad could penetrate the other's defense.

By halftime, Nevada was able to gain a slim lead at 7-6.

More scoring occurred in the third period, but when the buzzer sounded, the contest was again tied at 16-16.

In the fourth period, Donisha Williamson solved the 1-3-1 riddle for Prescott. She fired her shots from long-range, hitting a total of five three-pointers in the second half -- four in the final six minutes.

Williamson finished the game with 15 points, with Graham netting 10.

Alexis Madison led Nevada with 10 points.

Graham was the only Cubette to sink a free throw as she hit five of six. Prescott, as a team, was five of 10.

Nevada converted three of six from the stripe.

Haynie and Kelley each ripped down six boards, while Graham pulled down five rebounds and offered up four assists.

"We played good defense," Butler said. "Laura Beth Williams played her heart out. Graham also did an excellent job defensively.

"Being this small," she continued, "we have to learn to work the gaps and find our post girls inside."

Butler said her crew kept their heads well in the game, in spite of the problems the team had with the Nevada zone.

The Cubettes are now 7-1 on the season, with their only loss coming at the hands of the Lady Jays on Nov. 25.

Prescott's junior girls will end play during 1996 with a trip to Gurdon for another rematch with the Lady Devils on Dec. 12. The junior boys will also play this night. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.