Carly Jo Griffin scored nine of her game high 14 points in the pivotal third quarter to help lift the Weston girls past Quitman 31-29 in the first round of Dodson Junior High Basketball Tournament played this past Thursday and Friday. 

By saddling Quitman with their first loss after four straight victories to open the season, Weston improved to 5-1 and gained revenge of the loss to the Lady Wolverines in the finals of the Weston Tourney a week ago. 

The contest delivered on the pregame promise of a close matchup as the lead see-sawed back and forth between the two Jackson Parish rivals.  Weston taking a 9-6 first quarter lead only to see Quitman come storming back to take a 16-14 advantage at the half.

Weston outscored Quitman 13-6 in the third to take a 27-22 lead heading into the final frame setting the stage for a basket with around 30 seconds left to play by Ada Claire Tidwell that gave the Lady Wolves the final margin of victory after Quitman had rallied once again to draw even in the tightly contested contest. 

Tidwell and Teegan Hall finished with four points each followed by Carlynn Waters, and Brooklyn Johnson with three apiece. Gracie Gray added a basket and Keely Davis hit a free throw to round out the scoring for Weston. 

“Weston played hard and deserved to win,” said QJH coach Kyle Leach. “Griffin really played well for them.”

Hallie Kate Pullig scored nine points to lead Quitman  with Allie Roberson chipping in with five and Brenna Lamkin finishing with four. Kinsley Ponder and Breelyn Boone added three each, Klea Blalock and Lily Duck made a basket and Brealyn Patton connected on a free throw.  

Tourney recap: Castor nipped Weston in the second round by a 20-17 margin and then crept by Calvin to win the tournament title. No stats were available from either game.  

TEAM	1	2	3	4	FINAL
Weston (5-1)	9	5	13	4	31
Quitman (4-1)	6	10	6	7	29

Quitman boys get first win

Quitman gained their first victory of the year by exploding for 19 first quarter points on the way to a resounding 51-20 victory over Weston in the opening round of the Dodson Tourney. Hayden Seymore, who led all scorers with 13 points, hit a pair of three pointers, Kaleb Maxwell added five points, Joseph Delaney made four, Eli Jackson three and Jack Thomas added a free throw to give the Wolverines the early advantage.

The onslaught continued in the second quarter as Kobie Williams scored six Mathew Odom made four and both Delaney, who also reached “double digits” with 10 points, and Thomas hit a basket to lift the Wolverines to a commanding 34-8 lead at the half. Seven more points by Seymore, four from Delaney and two each from Maxwell and Thomas in the third quarter extended the lead to 49-10. Sam Schut added two points in the final frame for the Wolverines.

Leyton Younse led Weston with eight points followed by Lukas Bandy chipping in with six. Malachi Harris, Colton Otwell and Aiden Marsh all scored two points for the Wolves, who fell to 2-3 on the year.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	FINAL
Quitman (1-2)	19	15	15	2	51
Weston (2-3)	5	3	2	10	20

Tourney recap: Saline took the tourney title by beating Quitman in the finals after the Wolverines had beaten Castor in the second round. Saline earned a spot in the championship game by thumping Calvin 37-2 in the semifinal contest.

“I didn’t know if we could play with Quitman coming in,” said Saline head coach Klint Robinson. “They are really good and shoot the three as well as any junior high team I have seen.”

Brandon Robinson, who stands 6’3″ and 6’2″ Elijah Calloway led the way with a dominating post presence. Rylan Mauthe was the catalyst in the semi-final contest against Calvin, scoring 29 points and added an incredible 15 steals for the best individual performance of all area players in the early season.

Upcoming Games:

Weston travels to Castor on Monday with the girls tipping off at 5:00pm followed by the boys games. Quitman will be at home against Saline on Tuesday, August 29th for a pair of games slated to start at 5:00 pm.

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